Armored Core: Burning Path
by MrMasher
Summary: The world that was before, was erased from existence. Humanity survived underground and over years slowly recovered. A false peace is in place, held in check by corporations that thrive off the small conflicts between themselves. However, someone wishes to break the calm, and carve a burning path of destruction into the history books once more. Please Read and Review!
1. Armored Core Corporation List & History

**List of Corporations**

The Main Corporations

Rayleonard – The first corporation to take interest in Armored Core technology, a very aggressive and successful company. They also control the number one Raven, Berlioz.

Leonemeccanica – The largest corporation in Europe and has the largest amount of money put into the field of Direct Energy Weapons (DEW). Rosenthal bought their prototype DEW for a substantial price. Controls the Raven, Hawk

Rosenthal – The most resent corporation to go global and relies on tried and tested weapon designs. Has a very high standard and high reliability. They bought DEW technology from Leonemeccanica. Controls the Raven, Leonhardt

Minor Corporations

Bernard and Felix Foundation (BFF) – The largest minor corporation. There are rumours that they developed a ground based super weapon in the desert. Specialises in long range weapons. Controls the Raven, Empress.

Global Armaments (GA) – GA doesn't have much in the Armored Core market, however it has almost complete control of the MT market and has kept itself afloat by developing new MT models for the larger corporations. GA also has ownership of MSAC. Has no controlled Raven.

MSAC – MSAC is a small corporation, but one that controls a very large portion of the missile market, is owned by GA. Has no controlled Raven

Technocrat – A very small and poor corporation that is the remnants of the Russian Bi-Pedal weapons program. It isn't long for dissolving; specialising in rocket technology, but it's extremely outdated. Despite being the smallest corporation, it has control of the Raven, Ivan

**History**

2011: The United States of America starts research into Bi-Pedal weapons development

2013: The first Bi-Pedal tank, or walker, is created, under the designation "Sunshine"

2014 "Sunshine" is deployed in Iraq however it is too slow and is destroyed within days of deployment

2016 A second prototype Bi-Pedal tank is developed; this is under the designation "Moonlight"

2017 "Moonlight" is deployed in Iraq, this time it is successful and the Iraq War comes to an end

2020 After more development and research, the Moonlight Mk1 Bi-Pedal tank is put into full production

2023 Moonlights are now more popular in armed forces than tanks with over one million in service

2024 Several Moonlights go missing from American military bases

2025 The attack on New York by several terrorist groups using Moonlight walkers, 130,000 people die

2026 The United States orders a second war on terror

2027 2000 Moonlights are deployed in the Middle-East

2030 US starts to develop a new Bi-Pedal weapon system

2031 The Second War on Terror comes to an end with only three American causalities

2033 A new prototype walker is developed under the designation "Muscle Tracer"

2034 "Muscle Tracer" is tested on the Moonlight; "Muscle Tracer" over-powers the Moonlight in seconds due to rocket booster technology being implemented into its design

2035 The Muscle Tracer goes into full production, Moonlight is declared obsolete

2039 Moonlights are sold all over the world to the highest bidder, several thousand Moonlights end up in the hands of the Peoples Republic of China

2040 PRC declares war on US, The Mech War begins

2042 Bi-Pedal weapons development becomes the number one priority in the US and PRC

2045 The US discovers that using rubies and titanium oxide vapour creates a contained edged energy blade

2046 The US equips all Muscle Tracers with new laser blade weapon, the new Muscle Tracer is designated MT Mk2

2047 PRC Moonlight squads are ripped to pieces by new MT units, PRC deploys nuclear weapons on its own soil to holt US advance

2050 Despite nuclear attack, US forces close in on Hong Kong; PRC launches nuclear weapons at US soil

2051 Hong Kong is taken, US force withdraw from China, fifty million are killed by PRC nukes, US launches retaliatory nuclear strike on Beijing

2053 PRC surrenders; The Mech War comes to a close and is the first war in over 100 years when nuclear weapons were used in anger

2055 US begins developing a space-borne DEW, several large corporations take an interest in Bi-Pedal weapon technology

2056 The corporation Rayleonard begins developing its own line of MT parts

2057 The US notes that many MT pilots are buying the new custom parts and decides to develop a new weapon system for them

2060 Work on the "Armored Core" project begins

2063 The space-borne DEW is finished and launched into orbit; it is given the designation "Orion"

2064 "Orion" has a test firing on Siberia with Russia's consent, weapon has the same effect as a 10 megaton nuclear bomb without the radioactive fallout, nuclear weapons have just been made obsolete

2067 Russia begins development of Bi-Pedal weapons under the watch of the US

2069 The Russian Novaska-Class walker is finished

2070 The European corporation Leonemeccanica starts to develop parts for the future Armored Core Project

2072 Russia has built seven thousand Novaska-Class walkers

2073 Russia begins developing a second walker without US consent

2075 The first Armored Core is completed; it is handed over to test pilot Caleb Johnson who goes to Rayleonard and Leonemeccanica to acquire new parts

2076 Caleb is given a task to destroy ten Moonlights and five MT's in fewer than 3 minutes, he finishes it in less than one

2078 The fifth Armored Core is produced

2080 Russia finishes the development of the Sorvia-Class walker, US treats this as aggression and orders Russia to cease production of all Bi-Pedal weapons, Russia declares war on US

2081 The Second Mech War starts; the "Orion" is fired five times in one year

2082 US finishes construction of 500 underground cities in case of nuclear attack, the Armored Core Squad, formally known as Ravens, is deployed against Russia

2085 While the Second Mech War rages, a small terrorist cell takes over the "Orion" weapon

2086 The Year of Destruction, the "Orion" is fired 300 times in one year

20XX Society collapses, the world retreats to the underground cities

20XX The corporations take control of the people and restore order, they continue the creation and development of Bi-Pedal weapons

21XX The corporations begin fighting amongst each other, Ravens decide to become a separate and independent entity, Raven's Ark is created…


	2. 1: The Persistance of Loss

DISCLAIMER: This work is nothing more than Fanfiction, the rights to all of this belongs to From Software, only certain original characters and plot points are mine.

AN: A compilation of plot points and characters from across the series made into one coherent plotline. When I think of a better summery I'll stick it up but for now this will do, Enjoy! This fanfic will not be a short one by any meaning of the word so don't expect me to finish it for awhile! Please R&R! Updates will be weekly. Chapter content may change every so often due to editing. This is my first "Serious" piece of fanfiction so don't be gentle as all the feedback will be used. This entire work was begun and the primary character were inspired to be by the fanfiction series "_Hands of God"_ by Xardion, I genuinely ask you to check them out as they are amazing. So far i have written little over 41'000 words so I will update weekly unless interest picks up and then i will switch to bi-weekly, however once i hit the "Update point" as it were, progress will understandably slow down. I hope you enjoy!

**Armored Core: Burning** **Path**

_"Come you masters of war_

_You that build all the guns_

_You that build the death planes_

_You that build the big bombs_

_You that hide behind walls_

_You that hide behind desks..._

_I think you will find_

_When your death takes its toll_

_All the money you made_

_Will never buy back your soul"_

BOB DYLAN

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

Am I worth something? It's a question Elijah Thomson often found himself asking. Every time he didn't have an answer as he would always find points for both sides of the argument, points saying he was worth every second he was alive and others saying that he shouldn't even bother waking up the next day. He was a Raven. A pilot of the war machine known as an Armored Core, or AC for shorthand. Mercenaries that were hired out by Corporations to fight the worst battles they could afford to lose. He slowly climbed out of bed and moved to the wardrobe to find something to put on. He didn't have anything to do so he picked out a pair of black tracksuit bottoms and a white t-shirt before wandering off to the kitchen to find something to eat, he wasn't particularly hungry but he felt that not eating was worse. He pulled a frying pan from a small cupboard and set it on the hob, he then stopped. It was more of a waste to eat if he wasn't hungry. He put the pan back and went to sit on his bed. His mind wandered as he stared at the floor.

He had been 14 when his parents had moved from Capitol City and decided to move to Metropolis. Only three months after moving, a renegade Raven, one who had been displaying warning signs of psychopathy and extremely violent tendencies hit the city. Countless innocent people were killed before he was brought down. Both his parents were killed infront of him. They had been walking home from a meal when the Raven landed next to them. His parents were among the first to die, not even a chance to tell him to live well, or that they'd remember him. They were turned into ash almost instantly. Elijah had wandered the streets alone, scrabbling through the ruins of his home for a few days before a police officer had seen him and brought him in. He didn't speak for a week, and every night he'd wake up screaming. It was at that moment he woke up on the seventh night, he decided to become a Raven, to stop something like that ever happening to anyone else.

Elijah had signed up on the spot; it was at the registration desk that he had met John, someone who would stand by him through the best and the worst times. They were both only 14 and not allowed to pilot anything, so Elijah was set as a mechanics assistant and spent two years working on other people's Muscle Tracers, known by the group as MT's. Whenever a Raven's AC would be brought in, he'd find some excuse to not work on it because all he could think of was the machine that took his parents away. These experiences would have crippled him had he eventually gotten past it with John's help. Finally working on ACs would work well for his future plans and in no time he and John had become friends, truly trusting in one another, as each other's life depended on it.

The next few years saw the two friends spend most of their time together training and planning their futures; they had agreed that at 16, they would apply for an MT licence, this was the first stage of their career path, by 18 they would be allowed to become Ravens.

The sound of a transporter passing overhead snapped him out of his reverie. He stood up and went over to the window, and stared out. He quickly turned around as he heard someone keyed the code for his door, only one person had the code besides him.

John was standing on the other side waiting for him. "Come on Elijah" said John with a grin on his face "We have a mission". Elijah's eyebrows rose a notice but he kept his composure, a mission was just what he needed to keep his mind busy. "What, I thought we were clear for today?". "Yeah well, Rayleonard found out that the workers in one of their factories had decided that they weren't being paid enough and have gone on strike" said John. "And they need a Raven for that?" said Elijah while still trying to keep his expression. "They're armed" muttered John. Elijah didn't say anything back, he was already pulling an armoured jumpsuit from a compartment in the wall.

As soon as Elijah was ready, the pair left his room and began to walk towards the hangar. Elijah looked around as he walked, this was his home, Raven's Ark, a massive 3x3km platform suspended 4,000 metres above the mass of water that used to be known as the Pacific Ocean by multiple enormous engines powered by the Sun, when the Ark fell into the dark side of the Earth, enormous capacitors that would charge during daylight would kick in and could power the engines for up to 60 days solid. The Ark was the home to over 3000 people, and was a base of operations for all missions involving Ravens. At the head of all the Ravens, was the Governing Body of Ravens, a group of people consisting of one member of each of the corporations, a President elected by the members of all the corporations, a Governor, elected by all those who resided on the Ark and the current number one Raven. They made all the choices that would involve the Ravens and had the duty of performing as a court should the need arise. The Ark was considered to be one of the most heavily defended locations in the world, and no one was willing to try and disprove that statement.

They rounded a corner and began to walk along the glass walled catwalks that lead to the hanger. The sun was still climbing in the sky, turning the clouds red and orange. Nothing could be better than living here. As they approached the hanger the great doors, Elijah mentally ran through the details of it's design. When you lived here for years, you came to know the place inside out. They were designed to seal shut if the Ark was boarded and were only capable of being opened by a Raven, there was an intelligent sensor linked to a computer that could tell whether or not the Raven was being forced to open the door or not. The doors themselves were a two metre thick, electromagnetically shielded steel and a composite that was supposed to survive demolition charges, plasma cutters and any firearm from armour-piercing rounds, to BFF's 14.4mm AMSR that was designed to be the anti-armour weapon of choice when fighting MTs or even ACs if they were a good shot.

Elijah walked up to the terminal typed in a six number code and placed his hand into a small receptacle. He felt a tiny stab of pain as a needle collected a sample of his blood and analysed it. It checked levels for different illicit chemicals, if you were under the influence of any then you could expect a fast trip to the holding cell. The panel lit up green and the doors began to slide, quieter then you would ever expect, open and revealed the reason that Ravens were considered to be the masters of the battlefield, the harbingers of death. The Armored Core**.**

The sight sent him into another train of thought, right back to his first meeting with the chief engineer where he was briefed on the basic history and design of birth MT's and ACs. Developed by the former United States of America, they built them because more and more pilots were buying the corporation's custom MT parts. They saw this as a new way of designing bi-pedal weapon systems, let the pilots build them. They began on the "Cored MT" project or the Armored Core project to give pilots the choice in how they fight. After the Year of Destruction the corporations took over and continued to develop new AC parts and build them, eventually, there was too many ACs between the corporations and had it continued, a war to match the First Mech War would have broken out and that would have meant the end of humanity.

So they removed themselves from the corporation's grasp and created their own governing body to lead them. Raven's Ark was built in the North American salt flats and became the home for nearly one hundred Ravens. One day several high explosive charges were detonated around the Ark causing massive amounts of damage and starting multiple fires However, it is still not known who instigated the attack. Three groups of unmarked, but skilled, MTs entered the Ark though the hole in the outer wall that one charge had made and began to systematically eliminate every single Raven that they encountered. The hanger was the most heavily damaged building with five charges placed inside that building alone. 45 ACs were destroyed in the initial blast, the remaining 51 were attacked by the MTs while they were still in the hanger. Only five ACs survived and repelled the attackers. But the damage had been done, firestorms raged in different parts of the Ark. The survivors were loaded into dropships and sent to a Leonemeccanica refugee camp. No one took responsibility for the attack, and no investigation took place. Rayleonard, Leonemeccanica and Rosenthal collaborated in building the latest Raven's Ark, a flying fortress that was a symbol of power and stability. But Elijah wondered, how much the could Ark take?

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and began to climb the ladder that lead to his AC. Well, it wasn't his; it was on loan from Rosenthal, a basic TYPE-HOGIRE model, nothing special. John on the other hand had applied for Rosenthal's new TYPE-LANCEL, he had to pay half of all his earnings to Rosenthal for six months but he was happy enough not to care. The pair, now both in their ACs, moved towards the runway that was situated alongside the hanger, a transporter was waiting for them. Elijah was hoping that this would be easy…

Rayleonard Factory No. 74

Elijah span around seeking a new target, eager to take out another MT. He took a few steps forward anticipating an attack from any angle. However, the room was silent, save the sound of the great feet pounding against the floor as John walked up to him piloting his Armored Core. "Anything on radar?" said John "They said there would be more". "Nah" said Elijah dismissively "That must have been all of them" A real shame, he had started to almost lose himself in tearing the worker's MTs apart with his rifle and howitzer. He started to go back to the lift, as they turned, a MT pulled its self to its feet and raised one arm and fired up the laser blade attached to it, advancing slowly on Elijah.

John said "I'll deal with this one" walking toward the crippled opponent, as it swung a blade at him; he knocked the MT to the ground, placed a foot on its chest, and whispered "Night-Night". Placing his shotgun to the head of the machine he cocked it and just as he pulled the trigger, the MT rammed the laser into the ankle of the of John's Armored Core, melting the joints and hydraulics. "What"? Said John in surprise, he pulled the trigger and blew the head piece into fragments. The MT's systems then overloaded and it shutdown. "That was annoying" John grumbled, as he limped back, there was a dull _whoosh _from down the corridor next to John. John was about to comment on the noise when a bazooka shell slammed into his right arm, blowing it off at the elbow.

Another Armored Core slid past John's 'Core pelting him with a chain gun mounted on its wrist. John boosted round the corner to cover himself from the fusillade of munitions coming from the hostile AC. "Elijah" shouted John "Help?" John could feel the blood beginning to pool at his feet. The whole left side of his AC was crumpled in and it had crushed his chest.

He pulled out a small machine gun from his leg hanger and began firing around the corner. Elijah snapped out of the trance, raised the howitzer on his left arm, and fired a shell at the enemy hiding behind a pillar. It blew the 'Core out of cover giving John a chance to strike with his missiles. Six high explosive warheads were sent flying out of their tubes, heading straight for the stunned 'Core. John knew he wasn't coming out of this alive. He had to get it close enough, close enough to touch, then he could finish it.

The enemy 'Core suddenly shot to the side dodging all but two missiles that splashed harmlessly against its armour. It span round, glaring at Elijah, it raised a large bore shell firing weapon that was referred to as a "bazooka", about to fire and Elijah had nowhere to run or hide, if he went left or right he would get shot, but maybe if he went forward and took the hit, he could take the AC out at close range. He charged his over boosters ready the go head on with the bazooka.

He shot forward, the bazooka roared in front of him the shell putting a sizable dent in his chest. Inside the cockpit, monitors suddenly shot into static or just black as vibrations rocked the body, sparks flew from various points around him. Elijah ignored them and flew straight though the explosion

As Elijah shot through the smoke and flame, he saw the enemy shoot towards the crippled John, he knew that he would have no chance to save him, even if he could engage his over-boost in that split second, he would still be forced to watch him die.

But John didn't have going down without a fight in his plan. As the AC slid to a stop in front of him, it paused and turned back to face Elijah. It raised the bazooka, readying a second shot. "No you don't!" Shouted John, he swung out with his machine gun, knocking it off balance. "Elijah! I need you to do me a favour!" He shouted this as he forced his AC onto it's feet and staggered towards the enemy. "Get out of here alive!"

John grabbed a hold of the AC and gripped it so hard the armour plating began to cave inwards. He then swung them both, spinning them on the spot. He fired is over-boost, releasing all the limiters, the generator behind him began to ignite with the strain as the two AC were flung across the cavernous space. "Run Elijah!" He screamed into the mic. Elijah watched speechless as both ACs crashed into the trio of plasma storage units that were mounted there.

The resulting explosion engulfed them both and caused Elijah to be thrown back into the elevator. He took one last glance back at the crater in the wall before a second explosion burst out, larger than the last. He fired the grenade launcher on his wrist at the ceiling of the elevator carriage, blowing it open. Elijah maxed out the boosters, dropping all his weapons and ammunition to reduce weight as much as possible. The flames were scorching the legs of his AC as he climbed at an insane rate. He smashed through the sliding door that separated the elevator from the outside world, a vast desert that was devoid of life. The flames plumed behind him as he soared into the air. The boosters cut out as the generator behind him coughed it's last breath and shutdown. He smashed into the ground. An arm and a leg were ripped off in the process but Elijah wasn't functioning properly anymore. He sat in the cockpit of his AC for a few hours before a rescue dropship was sent, he just sat shaking in his seat, the last few moments of John's life playing over in his head, tears running silently down his face. His friend was dead.


	3. 2: Everyday is Exactly the Same

AN: This chapter is much shorter than those that follow so this is being added mid-week so that the next update after this doesn't take another week, chapter 3 will be uploaded on the 18th as originally planned.

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

3rd Day in Detroit

Lance Corporal Nicholas Hale staggered onto his feet and ran for the nearest cover available. He felt the shock from the grenade wear off as he crouched behind a concrete roadblock. A 40mm grenade flew over his head and carved a crater behind him. He stuck his rifle over the block and fired off a burst before getting to his feet and sprinting for a burnt out van.

He slid into cover and turned to the soldier that was hiding there. "You all right?" asked Nick. The man just sat, shivering, clutching his rifle to his chest. Nick knew he was a lost cause and moved round him to the back end of the van. He poked his head round only to retreat quickly as bullets pinged off the metal. He slid a 20mm High Explosive rocket into the launcher on the bottom of his rifle. He then closed the chamber and pressed a button of the side of the rifle, which popped a digital sight up. He pointed the rifle round the corner and noted the distance to the location of where the fire had come from. Then he set the rocket to explode half a meter further and took aim. He squeezed the trigger and the rifle kicked back as the tiny explosive jumped away from the barrel. He watched it pass the enemy's cover and then explode a split second later.

He saw a red cloud spray out from round the back of the concrete block. This was a sure sign that whatever was around that corner wasn't going to be troubling him anymore. He poked his head round the van for a second time and began to shuffle around. Nick had only a split second to react as another 40mm came flying at him, forcing him back behind cover.

This wasn't good. Another hail of rounds came at him, pepper potting the ground around him with tiny explosions. Nick crawled back towards the stunned soldier; he reached over the soldier's shoulder and grabbed the com unit from his radio. He clicked it on, "This is Lance Corporal Nick Hale, I'm pinned down with Private Kyle Johnson, we are receiving heavy fire from light arms from a force of unknown size and strength, requesting MT support immediately!" A voice crackled back at him, "Corporal, requesting that you and Johnson hold position, all MT squads are currently engaged, but we can give you some support, hold tight."

Nick crawled back towards the end of the van, the now familiar sound of bullets rattling of the empty carcass of the van resounding through his mind; he poked the end of his rifle round the back of the van and fired a burst of rounds at the unseen adversary. He looked back at the shell-shocked soldier. As he turned to engage the enemy, he heard the faint whine of jet engines. The headset attached to his helmet began to squawk, _"Corporal Hale this is Falcon 02, we need you to clear the area, we're bringing in the rain"_ Nick's eyes widened with realisation, he looked over at the enemy squad and saw them pointing at the sky and turning to run. He turned back and dived behind the van as the jets screamed overhead. The resulting explosion, felt for miles around, released a great cloud of smoke and flame reached into the sky.


	4. 3: Was It a Dream?

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark, Medical Bay

Elijah awoke blinking in a bed that he didn't recognise. He tried to move but it hurt too much. He looked around; he was in what appeared to be a hospital. However, he had no recollection of ever going to a hospital. The last thing he could remember was being launched out of the tunnel and crashing into the desert and he wasn't even sure if that even happened. He turned his head, wincing at the pain, and saw a man sleeping in a chair next to him.

The first thing he noticed about the man was the sheer blinding whiteness of his hair. The only way it could be that white was through dyeing, as there was no way the guy looked older than 30. He was wearing a long black leather trench coat with a white jumpsuit underneath it.

Elijah looked away and tried to see if anyone else was in the room. There was no one there. He turned to look back at the strange man, only to find him sitting with his eyes wide open. "You're awake then?" he asked, "Who are you?" Elijah asked immediately, not recognising the man sat next to him. He smiled slightly an answered "My name is Edward, I was a friend of John's, when I heard he had been killed, but his partner had survived, I wanted to see how you were. Are you feeling any better?" Elijah sat up a bit before responding, "Yeah a bit, how did I get here?" "John was piloting a LANCEL, Rosenthal's newest model, they wanted to keep their higher end products intact. There was a operator secretly keeping an eye on John, when his vitals flat lined and the readings from the AC went dead they immediately dispatched an emergency dropship to pick you up and it brought you back to here, you've been unconscious for three days now"

"Wow" Said Elijah numbly. "You need to rest, you have a meeting with the governing body of Ravens tomorrow" "Why?" "It's not often that a Raven dies, your debrief will be considered as important as they will want to know how John died". "Who is going to be there?" asked Elijah "Governor Desmond, President Vale, most of the board and Berlioz." Elijah looked puzzled "Who is Berlioz?" Edward grinned. "Berlioz is the number one ranked Raven in the world, it surprising you haven't heard of him" "But what would he want with me?" "No idea, I think maybe he would like to know how a rookie Raven managed to not only survive but win in a one on one fight with another Raven" Elijah felt his eyelids drooping "You must be tired, you need to sleep" but Elijah didn't need telling as he was already asleep.

Edward walked out of the ward and sat down outside. He put his head in his hands and sighed. When Edward looked at Elijah, he could swear that he saw a younger version of himself. Trying to survive in a world that didn't want you to. Edward could remember a time when he wasn't in the world of Ravens. It was in the city that lay beneath the ruins of New York that he had his earliest memories; the sound of high calibre rifles and boosters roaring, explosions around him, seeing the menacing glow of the Armored Core's optical unit. He couldn't remember anything after that until he was in the old Raven's Ark. He had been told that an infantry unit had found him and took him to the Ark as a refugee. It was there that his adoptive parents took him in. They cared for him like their own. It lasted five years, and then Raven's Ark was attacked. His adoptive father had been a Raven and had gone off to fight the invaders.

His father's bravery inspired him to become a Raven. He spent every day training. And when the new Raven's Ark was finished and moved to its current location, he was old enough to pilot an Armored Core. He looked back into the room.

Elijah had been through enough; it was unfair of the Governing Body to put him through more trials and tribulations. Tom walked up to him "How's he doing?" he asked. "Not too bad, but still, he isn't ready for a full scale meeting." "Yeah, it's seems like he was the lucky one though, can't imagine what happened to the other guy." Tom walked over to the window and peered in, "Doesn't look pretty at the moment does he?" said Tom, looking back at Edward. "From what I saw in the pictures i asked from Rosenthal, it would seem that his AC must have just sat there once he escaped, he didn't move." Tom just stared in. Edward stood up and said "Come on, we need to prepare some things in case this meeting decides to turn for the worst" and the pair begin to walk out of the hospital and back to their apartment.

Edward unlocked the door and walked in. The apartment was relatively small but it was large enough to manage. Tom walked over to his bed, picked up a baseball that was lying on the floor, collapsed onto the bed and bounce the ball off the opposite wall. "You know the neighbour will come round again yelling at you" "So?" "If it happened again I promised that I would throw you out." Tom paused "Fair enough" and put the ball down. "What'cha doing?" asked Tom "I'm writing some notes for the meeting tomorrow" Tom just looked at him, "Boring, I'm going out for a drink, you coming?" Edward didn't even look up. "Ok then" muttered Tom and he walked out the door.

Raven's Ark , Great Hall

"Raven Elijah, you are the surviving member of the pair that was sent to quell the insurrection that occurred at the Rayleonard factory?" said Governor Desmond. "Yes, I am" responded Elijah "And how is it that you are the only one to return?" continued the Governor. "My partner was killed while engaging a Raven of unknown allegiance" a murmur ran though the crowd gathered in the massive hall. "And would you be able to explain how Raven John came to meet his untimely demise?" Elijah's voice cracked slightly at the memory "Yes, my... my partner was heavily wounded and in desperation to protect me he... he grappled with the opponent and flew himself and the other into the plasma storage unit that was in the room" "And what became of your assailant?" "He was killed at the same time as John" The man wearing a black jumpsuit shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. "Berlioz" asked the governor while turning to face him "You have something to say?" Berlioz looked straight at Elijah "Yes, why was your friend so willing to sacrifice himself on your behalf?"

Elijah's fists clenched and he gritted his teeth, memories only days old came creeping into his head, '_RUN ELIJAH',_ he took a deep breath and said calmly "John was my closest friend, to be honest had I been in his position I would have done the same".

Berlioz raised an eyebrow "Tell me, how did you feel exactly" Elijah's jaw dropped on the spot, obviously shocked. "I... I-I don't.." Elijah stammered unable to answer, tears began to well up behind his eyes, he could feel them. He could feel it. "Come now" Said Berlioz still staring at him, "You must have some feelings towards this issue?" The monumental, crushing pain that his closest and dearest friend was gone came down on him. "I felt pain! I felt like a hole was ripped in my chest and ever since if feels like it's getting bigger and bigger and all I want is for it to stop!" Berlioz and everyone else in the room leaned away from him as if his words had physically forced them back. Berlioz looked back to the Governor. "Well, it would seem that this is something that needs to be handle with care, this Raven's capacity to think is obviously in question. See to it he gets medical attention" said Berlioz turning back to Elijah now looking more serious, "However as Rayleonard's representative, I must make a comment on the destruction of a multi-million credit installation that you destroyed, something like that can't be over looked."

Elijah looked Berlioz square in the eye. "If you think I care even in the slightest about what happened to that place, then you can crawl back the hole you came from and burn in hell!" Berlioz sat up in his chair. "It is not on you Raven, to speak to me like that" Elijah's cold glare cut him suddenly as he spoke "Maybe I tore what you held dear away you could maybe see things through my eyes" Berlioz leaned back into his chair "That is everything from me." The Governor looked back at Elijah, "After reviewing everything that has been compiled here and the information you have given us Raven, it would appear that you... are damaged, I believe that this would be in everyone's best interest that I suspend your Raven's licence until further notice and I'm putting you on indefinite psych leave. This meeting is dismissed."

As everyone started to file out of the hall Elijah sighed, now he had no way of helping anyone, and the psychologist wouldn't help. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned round to see who it was. It was Edward, looking at him with a faint smile, "Come on Elijah, we have our first session" Elijah looked puzzled "You mean, you're my psychologist?" "Yes, and I think that having me would be better then say, someone less qualified." Elijah nodded slowly. "Also, I think Berlioz wants to speak with you in private, after the governing body gives back your licence." Elijah continued to look puzzled "What?" "They're only doing it so they look like they're doing something, you'll have you licence back by tomorrow, but the likelihood is they will be watching you very closely, they already lost a Raven, they need as many as they can now" "And what about Berlioz, he sounded like he meant it" said Elijah."So did you" He said with an edge, "Well, it's more than likely that Rayleonard is upset you blew up their factory, but I know for a fact that Berlioz couldn't care less about what you did, if anything, he's impressed"

Elijah looked up confused. Berlioz was impressed? If Berlioz was the number one and he was impressed with him, then he must have done something "What the hell did I do to impress him?" Edward slowed down and smurked a little "You stood up to him, infront of the whole council and the assembled persons of the Great Hall. Elijah stopped walking, he thought on that for a second. "If Berlioz is a Raven, then where is his AC, I never saw it in the hanger?" "If you want, I'll show you, but we'll need to go to his hanger" Elijah looked at Edward, surprised. "He has his own hanger?" Edward smiled. "Perks of being number one" they turned down a short corridor that branched off from the main path. They came to a large door and stopped. Edward punched in a code to the keypad next to the door. It beeped twice, and then lit up green. The door opened up, to reveal an awe-inspiring sight.

As they walked into the hanger, Elijah's eyes were assaulted by the sight of one of the most elegant and well designed Armored Cores he had ever seen. Edward was grinning at him, probably because his mouth was loose. Elijah leaned over to Edward and whispered, "What is that?" Edward said "That is Supplice, Berlioz's AC." Elijah just stared at it. Taking in every detail of the 11 metre tall machine that stood in front of them. Absorbing the glossy black paint that shimmered like glass, the smooth yet sharp edges of the arms and legs, the formidable weapon systems that it held in its hands, the sheer beauty of the machine over whelmed him. Edward leaned over and whispered, "You're not going to start drooling are you?" Elijah suddenly snapped out of his trance, "Huh, what, no."

They started walking around the hanger. "I have never seen these parts in the store" said Elijah "You wouldn't, they're custom made by Rayleonard" "Let me guess, perks of number one again?" "Yes" responded Edward "The Corporation that owns the number one Raven gets to build a custom Armored Core for them." Elijah and Edward continued walking round the gantry when they herd footsteps and a voice call out "Hello, can I help you?" Edward and Elijah wheeled around looking at he man that had spoken to them. It was Berlioz. The look on his face went from confusion, to understanding as he saw Elijah's face. "You said you wanted to see Elijah?" said Edward. "Yes" said Berlioz. "Elijah, could I speak to you in private?" he asked "Yeah, sure" said Elijah as they started to walk towards a small room tucked into the side of the hanger.

The door closed and Berlioz moved to sit in a chair on the other side of a wooden desk. Berlioz gestured to the chair closest to Elijah, "Please, sit." Elijah walked up to the chair and pulled it towards him. As Elijah sat down, Berlioz locked his fingers and stared at him. "I'm still having trouble coming to terms with everything that was said back in the hall, I am truly sorry for your loss and should have shown so". He continued to stare. "The fact that you are still alive now is not just because your friend bravely sacrificed himself for you, but because as far as your mission record goes, you are genuinely a good pilot" Elijah looked puzzled. "So, you're saying what?" "I'm saying that I want to see your skill as a Raven to be used and I think that with me, it will be considerably easier." It suddenly clicked into Elijah's head. "You want me to work with you?" Berlioz smiled "Yes, I think that you will go far with me behind you." Elijah stood up, he had to think about this, this was a whole different Berlioz to the one he saw back in the Great Hall "I'll do it." he said slower than had he actually been excited "Good, if ever I need you, I'll send a message." Elijah turned and walked out with looking back.

"_Has there been any progress?" "Yes…We found it" "So it exists?" "They actually finished it, but like the cowards they are, they never revealed it or even used it once" "We will make good use of that, how is this going to come about?" "I'll get something, don't worry"_


	5. 4: Survival

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

3rd Day in Detroit

The first thing that Nick heard was a dull _thumpa-thumpa-thumpa. _Good, he was alive. He started to tune his hearing further, he could hear… screaming, the sounds of weapon fire and high explosives in the background. He opened his eyes and saw soldiers running passed him, firing at an unseen enemy, as he looked longer, he could make out the uniform they were wearing. They were not his allies, as he had originally thought; they were wearing the deep red and black body armour of Rayleonard soldiers. They were not shooting at his foes, but cutting his fellow men down. He crawled over to his rifle laying only two feet away from him, ignoring the stabbing pain lancing down his leg. He looked down at his leg, and almost passed out again. His leg looked more like a piece of mangled armour plated meat and bone, his thigh and shin bones had been broken and were jutting out from the shattered leg plating.

He continued crawling and reached his rifle. He rolled over and aimed down his body at the enemy, only to see the soldiers move on and were replaced by men marching down the middle of the road, wearing the pitch black powered armour of Rayleonard's Elite Shock Troopers, only deployed when the battle wasn't going in Rayleonard's favour. This was a good thing and a bad one, good, because it meant they were winning, bad, because they weren't for much longer. Nick slowly crawled into the shadows. Engaging them, even uninjured was plain suicide. He laid his rifle next to him, making sure it was close and loaded and set about trying to sort his leg out. He reached round himself to a medium sized bag; he unclipped it from his belt and laid it in front of him. He pulled out several bandages and medical tape. Then he pulled out a small case and opened it. The small needle he pulled out was full of a local anaesthetic, he jabbed it into his leg and pushed the plunger.

The drug flowed into his leg he felt relief flood though him. He set about slowly pulling the fragments of armour from his leg, although he knew the anaesthetic was working, it still hurt like hell. Finally when most of the material was removed he now had the excruciating task of re setting his thigh and shin bones back into place. He took out the second needle of anaesthetic and injected it into his leg, the pain further dulled until it was just a deep throbbing. He grabbed the bone and slowly pushed it down his leg, gritting his teeth to stop himself screaming. Then, he slid it back into place next to its other half and then locked it with the shard that was attached to his knee.

He lay back, and just panted from the exertion. Nick knew what was next, putting the thigh bone back in his leg. He sat up and held the bone and slid it back, with some effort, into place with the other end. Thank God, it was a clean break. He sat, the pain had lessened now, he opened the bag and pulled out a pair of large pads, placing one over each of the breakage areas, he then wrapped it around his thigh as many times as he could without passing out, then he tore the bandage and tied a knot in it. After that he got the medical tape and wrapped that round a few times to give added security and support. He repeated the process with his shin as well. Looking at his now mummified leg, he noticed that maybe he went over kill with the tape, but didn't think any more on it. He grabbed a piece of concrete and hauled himself to his feet. Still leaning of his good leg he shifted some weight onto the other one. The pain was bearable and it didn't feel like the bindings were going to come loose at any second, so he sat down again and started packing all his equipment from his field kit away.

It might seem like a lot, but the field kit didn't contain as much as a full medical kit, which had all of the same as the field kit, but with shots of morphine, adrenaline, more bandages and tape, minor surgical equipment like scalpels and tweezers and a portable defibrillator. So it was more useful when the injury was more serious. As soon as everything was away, he clipped the bag back into position on his belt and stood up, picking his assault rifle at the same time. He started towards the road, but fell over backwards when an MT dropped from the sky in front of him. He began crawling away, in the vain attempt to evade the glare from the optical unit mounted on top of the torso. It turned to face him, the red eye piece glowed with a menacing energy and it began walking towards him. It raised its right arm, a pair of barrels poking out were the hand would have been. This is it, thought Nick. Then on impulse he grabbed his rifle and fired off the 20mm rocket attachment. It slammed into the shoulder of the MT and it stumbled backwards, the armour was peeled apart and blacked, the cables that connected the torso to the left arm were exposed, sparking and crackling, the left arm twitched and jerked. As soon as the smoke cleared, it seemed that Nick's attempt to take out the MT was in vain. However by the time the MT had recovered, Nick had got another rocket in the launcher and took aim this time. The rifle kicked back and the rocked jumped away sailing straight into the head piece of the MT. The unit exploded into fragments, metal went flying in every direction. All that was left was a smoking stump.

The MT took a step backwards and fell onto one knee. Nick saw his chance, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a small metal box with a digital screen on the front and limped over to the MT. As soon as he was close enough he slammed the box onto the fallen MTs leg. He tapped the screen and armed the charge; he then limped back to the rubble. He pulled out a tiny moulded piece of high impact plastic and depressed the button on top. The timer on the box counted down to zero and then exploded with such force that it knocked Nick off his feet and sent him in the opposite direction. He was left coughing as dust came raining down on him. He climbed out of the rubble that had fallen around him and limped out into the sunlight, he was dazed and staggered by the light, but it was suddenly eclipsed by a second MT that must have seen his comrade's demise. Nick slowly reached for another rocket, only to feel an empty pouch. He cursed and began to run as fast as he could, ignoring the pain that stabbed though his leg. He looked over his shoulder and saw the MT beginning to turn and chase him when he lost his footing and fell to the ground. He rolled over onto his back and drew his sidearm, he squeezed the trigger as fast as it would allow. The bullets pinged off the armour plating like peas flicked at a wall.

Then the slide locked back, and the gun fell silent. Nick closed his eyes and waited for the MT to finish him. Until something crashed into the road behind him.


	6. 5: This is How it Goes

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven Ark

Raven's Ark

They both turned to walk back out of the hanger. Elijah stared longingly at the Armored Core. "Come on" Said Edward "You can't spend all day here." As they walked through the open door, Elijah asked "How did Berlioz come to be a Raven?" "His great grandfather was one of the first five Ravens to exist; he was in Russia when the Year of Destruction occured. Naturally he was killed, but his grandfather made it into one of the underground cities." Elijah looked up at Edward. "That's amazing, that would explain why his is number one if piloting has been in his family for generations!" Edward smiled and said without looking at Elijah "His father was a cook in the old Raven's Ark" Elijah just carried on talking "Yeah, well maybe it skipped a generation." The pair continued walking down the corridor towards the main body of the Ark.

As they were walking an excited Ark worked ran up to them looking flushed "Hey come on, two Raven's are having it out in Section 3!" He turned round immediately and ran back down the corridor. "Oh no..." Muttered Edward, Elijah looked at him, "What?" "Fights between Raven's, without supervision can turn fatal". The grin on Elijah's face dropped instantly. "Well come on we have to break them up or something?" "No, it's best to let them finish it now, rather than let them do it somewhere else, anyway, most fights end rather quickly with one man backing down or accepting that..." Edward was cut short be two resounding gunshots that echoed from down the corridor, the screaming followed shortly.

Edward and Elijah started sprinting the moment they broke out of the trance that fell on them after the gunshots, it was the woman's scream that set them off, as they wheeled round the corner, Elijah ran straight into the back of a man standing in the doorway. Edward slipped between two men and disappeared, Elijah was left to try and squeeze through on his own. When he reached the middle, he was surprised to find a large gap in the crowd, a circle of open space, occupied by a man that Elijah had never seen before and Edward who was kneeling next to a body, with two neat holes in his now red jumpsuit. The blood was pooling around him and Edward's black coat was trailing in it.

Edward stood up and faced the man, who was still holding the offending firearm. "Are you happy now?" He asked with no emotion in his voice. The man looked back at him with a look of confusion, "Hey man, he was in my face, now I can't..." He didn't get another word out; Edward lunged and hit him in the side of the head. He keeled over and hit the ground with a wet crack. Edward stood there, and looked around at everyone, "This is what happens when you believe you can kill someone with no justification of any kind, not that murder can be justified." He looked at two stunned security guards, "Take him up to the medical bay, and I want 24 hour watch on him as well." He turned to the body that was lying on the floor, "And get someone to take him away".

He turned and walked back towards Elijah, "Come, we need to leave now" Elijah was shocked, "What just happened?" "I don't know, but I think they might have been from rival clans." Elijah continued to look confused as they walked. "Clans?" "Yes, most Raven join a clan at some point, it isn't compulsory but most enjoy the feeling of working together, however some clans have different opinions and they can't see eye to eye and fights break out." He paused before continuing, "Most of the time nothing happens, sometimes people go home with broken noses, but very rarely some get seriously injured, this is the first time we have had a clan related death, but we need to interrogate the man in the medical bay before his trial and execution to see if it was a clan attack."

Elijah stopped breathing at 'execution'. "There're going to kill him!" Edward look at Elijah with a look of confusion, "Yes, the punishment for murder is death, I thought you knew that?" "No, what happened to life-imprisonment?" "Two things, murder is the only crime that is punishable by death, rape could be included, but there hasn't been a reported rape case since before the year of destruction, and murderers are only imprisoned if he has family." Elijah wasn't looking at Edward when he asked "How are they killed?" Edward's expression didn't change, "The old fashioned way, firing squad at dawn, they stand on the edge of the 'Ark, they have 10 seconds, they can choose to jump and see if they can survive the fall into the ocean, or they stand, and are shot over the edge, most choose to jump, but some stand, they are the ones that are respected more than those that jump, who are seen as cowards."

Elijah and Edward started along one of the catwalks that linked the different sections of the 'Ark together. Elijah looked out the windows that made up the walls, the sun was setting in the west and was throwing bright rays across the cloud line that the 'Ark sat over. He looked back at the Hanger through the window and saw a transporter take off from the small run way that was situated along-side the hanger. If it were possible, aircraft requiring runways wouldn't be employed, but dropships could only carry a small amount of weight, normal fixed wing transporters were needed to carry heavy loads like freight, or AC's. Dropships were used by the corporations to deploy infantry and MT squads directly into combat. Transporters could land in all but the most unstable areas as long as there was enough wing space and there was a long enough strip of land. So even if an AC was in a mountainous area, he could boost down to a low enough area for pick up. Things only got complicated when the AC was incapacitated or the pilot was severely injured. Then a special recovery team with a modified dropship would be deployed to collect him and his AC like the Rosenthal one that had pick him up from the desert. There were only two of these modified dropships, as they were from before 2086 and no-one had the blueprints to make new ones, however GA had been researching into the designs and was working on some prototype "Heavy-Lifting" dropships.

The ping of the door snapped him awake from his day dream. They walked down the bleached white and chrome hallways that lead to the mess hall. The corridors were crowded, people moving to and fro between their various tasks. Some just stood around talking, most were headed in the same direction as Edward and Elijah. As they got through the doorway into thee mess hall the noticed how crowed it really was. The pair got in the queue to collect their food. Elijah was so deep in thought that it took the man serving the food two times to get his attention. Elijah said the first things that came to mind, "Cottage Pie and Chocolate Mousse". The chef put the food on a plate and in a bowl, and then handed it to him on a tray. He walked over to a table where Edward and Tom were sitting with someone he didn't know. He sat down and began picking at his food. Tom looked over at him, "What's up with you two, you both sit down, and looking like someone shot your dog". Edward looked over at him and started whispering to him. Suddenly Tom leaned back and said "Oh sh…" but Edward silenced him and carried on whispering. When he finished Tom looked back at Elijah and said "If he killed someone then he deserves to be executed" Elijah looked up at Tom with a cold look "It is not on to you, to make those kinds of judgements" He stood up, leaving his food almost untouched and walked back to the living quarters. Tom looked at Edward shocked, "What's his problem?" "I don't think he is too partial to the idea of the death sentence, but you did show too much vigour, this is another human we are talking about, would you be willing to be the man that condemned him to death?" Tom looked thoughtful for a bit, then said "Yeah, I suppose" and went back to eating as if nothing had happened

"_I bring more good news" "Let's hear it" "We believe we have found the control site" "That is excellent, another step closer, have you found the spark to light our keg yet?" "I believe so, but I think that waiting a little would be in our favour, Rayleonard is still too stable on its pedestal, we must shake them, and then bring them down"_


	7. 6: Saviour

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

3rd Day in Detroit

The AC was gleaming white and pale blue, it raised one arm, with a strange looking weapon in its hand and began to fire off long bursts of machine gun fire at the MT that was leering over Nick. The MT stumbled and looked at its attacker, it was then that the AC fired up a bright blue laser blade, stepped over Nick and cut the MT clean in half, from shoulder to waist, in one sweeping motion. It fell to the ground it two pieces; the Armored Core turned its head towards him. The com unit attached to his helmet crackled into life, _"_Lance Corporal Nicholas Hale, this is the Armored Core White Sparrow_" _Nick grinned and stood up, putting the weight of his body on his good leg and lent on a piece of rubble for support. They sent a Raven? We must be getting a good kicking if they had to resort to this. Nick opened up the com link and said "Raven, what's the situation like?" The voice crackled back, "Well your being out manoeuvred on the left flank and they're punching a hole straight though your front line at multiple points of contact, basically not good"

Nick grabbed his rifle and packed all his gear into their respective pouches and hobbled over towards the AC. Once he was out in the street he looked down the road and could see the backs of several MTs pushing away from him. He opened the com channel again and said "Raven, you don't mind taking orders from a Lance Corporal do you?" The radio crackled with laughter and then "No, you look like you know what you're doing" Nick grinned again and said "Ok, I need you to distract or destroy those MTs down there so our forces can re-group." No response came through but the AC looked down the street and began moving forward, then a roaring sound resounded from the AC and the boosters on its back flared into life and it shot down the street like a white blur. The deep bass sound of the machine gun came echoing from the AC as it started unloading its weapon into the MTs.

Nick ran as fast as he could with his bad leg towards a car that looked like it could still be in a useable condition. He opened the driver's side door, only to have it fall off its hinge and he climbed in. He then realised that he didn't know how to start it. He understood how to drive, but had never thought about starting. Looking around for a button or switch, he noticed something sticking out from the steering column. He pushed it in, but it didn't move he pulled it out. Nothing, he put it back in and tried twisting it. Still nothing. How did people put up with these things? He twisted it in the other direction, this time the engine coughed and chugged into life. Nick laughed and looked for the accelerator pedal that he had read about.

He found it a second later and he slammed his foot into it. The engine roared and the car jumped forward, thank god he picked an automatic, as the speedo hit 50 MPH. He swerved to avoid a lump of concrete in the middle of the road. As he pulled towards a crossroads a small group of Rayleonard soldiers popped around the corner, he was close enough to see the surprised looks on their faces but then saw the soldier with the grenade launcher under his rifle take aim. "Oh cra…." He had only started to lean, towards the open door to jump out, when he saw the rifle kick back, the barrel flash and a fat 40mm grenade spiralling towards him. He had only got half of his body out of the door when the grenade slammed into the centre of the bonnet. His leg was screaming in pain. The grenade exploded. Heat came tumbling over him in a split second and the over-pressure hit him like a sledgehammer. It sent him ten feet further than originally planned, but it did put him through the window of an old clothing store, some form of cover. However it did jar his leg to hell and back. Still clutching his leg in agony he saw the flaming wreck that was his car go rolling past him.

He could hear slow, deliberate footsteps. They must have seen him fly though the shop window. His rifle was in the car, probably toast by now, he still had his sidearm though, his mind raced though the details about the weapon in a second. The P32-01 "Snake" Sidearm, made from high class polymers, it incorporated the standard 5x30mm round used in all Leonemeccanica small arms because of its size and armour piercing capability. The 01 model that he had been issued with also included an under barrel 11x35mm weapon for engaging un-armoured targets, as the 5mm round didn't have enough stopping power and suffered from over penetration, a problem when non-combatants were involved. It made the weapon heavier, but more versatile to a degree, Nick enjoyed having the underbarrel second calibre, but having only one round it threw the weapon weight off and was only usfuly in very specific situations. There was an 02 model which had an under barrel armour piercing 10mm micro rocket launcher for engaging light armour, but it was just as unpopular as the 01 model due to the weight and the rocket launcher's ineffectiveness. In practice most soldiers would do their best to be issued with the newer 05 pistol.

He broke out of his train of thought when he heard gravel crunch outside the store, he pulled out the weapon and aimed at the door waiting for them to walk around the frame. The silence was cut short by a burst of machine gun fire and a sharp yelp. He heard more footsteps, coming from the other side of the door. When the figure walked round and through to door, he almost let loose with the handgun, but stayed his trigger finger when he saw that the person was wearing the blue and dark green colours of Leonemeccanica soldiers. He released the breath he didn't know he had been holding and let his arm fall to his side. The soldier still crouched over, walked over to him and knelt next to him, Nick noticed the Red Cross on the shoulder of his under-shirt. Good, a medic. The soldier tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, can you hear me?" "Yeah, my leg hurts though" The he looked down and grimaced, "Jesus, that's nasty, but it looks like you've done a good job of sealing it up, you're definitely going to need surgery, but you might have saved your leg, I'll give you a shot of morphine so it won't bother you, until we can get you out of here, you'll need to be able to move around." Nick didn't complain, the pain was bad enough that he knew refusing would be stupid. He didn't feel the needle in his arm, but he did notice the pain fade in his leg until it was just a dull throbbing, almost gone, but there, which was a good thing, because he didn't want to forget about it and do more damage.

The medic undid his blood stained bandages and scrunched his face in disgust while he replaced them. "What the hell happened to you?" Nick grinned, "You know that airstrike we called in about four or five hours ago?" "Yeah" "Kind of got underneath it" "Damn, you're lucky to be alive" He didn't say anything else. He just finished taping up the leg and then stood up pulling Nick up with him. "Are you going need some help?" Nick shook his head, "No, I should be fine" The medic nodded, "Ok then, let's get you out of here, there's a landing zone just two klicks from here, do you think you can make it, or do you want me to call in a dropship?" Nick shook his head, "No, I'll be fine, I don't want to risk losing a perfectly good dropship over my leg, the morphine will hold me up." The medic started towards the door, "Come on then, we need to get going." Nick started forwards, he leg still bothering him, but it was bearable. As they started down the street, Nick remembered something. "Wait here" He said to the medic an ran over to the now smouldering wreck that was his car, leaned in though the hole where the door used to be and saw that his rifle was still intact and looked almost untouched, thank god for Leonemeccanica quality, not as good as Rosenthal, but he though they went over the top when it came to quality, some appreciated it, however most didn't like the higher price.

He pulled the rifle from the car and did a quick check, while he looked over the rifle, the details flashed though his head, just like with the handgun, he had memorised the manuals for all issued weapons before he had even signed up, he had earned himself the moniker "Gun-Nut." The LR46-15 "Cobra" assault rifle chambered in the standard 5x30mm "Green Tip" armour piercing round. It held the same magazine that the SM55 "Viper" sub-machine gun, so the users could swap and share ammunition. The 05 model was the most modern variant with a retractable digital x4 – x8 combat scope and an electronic bolt system that was also implemented on the "Viper." Mounted on the bottom of the rifle was a small 20mm multi use rocket launcher that could be used to engage various targets. The model 14 had a similar set up, but the scope was fixed, and was set at x3 magnification and it didn't have the electronic bolt system. The weapons with the EBS (electronic bolt system) don't have an explosed bolt handle, there is a concealed one incase of jamming, the reloading process is almost completely automatic, except the removal and replacing of the magazine so handling the weapon is incredibly simple. Nick finished checking the weapon and moved back to the medic's side, "Ok let's go" The pair started moving their way through the war torn streets of the ruins of Detroit.


	8. 7: Somewhat Damaged

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

Elijah was just drifting off to sleep when an almighty explosion rocked the entire 'Ark. Edward was working on his computer in his apartment when the explosion knocked him off his chair and onto the floor, cracking his head on a nearby table, knocking himself out cold. Tom fell out of bed cursing, reaching for his sidearm. "What the hell was that?" Said Tom as he ran out of his room. He looked around the smoke filled room. "Edward?" He then noticed the blood stained on the table and then saw Edwards limp body lying in a heap on the floor. He ran over and grabbed him, slung him over his shoulder and immediately head for the medical bay.

Elijah shot out of bed, still in his t shirt and shorts; he grabbed the pistol out of its holster in the cupboard and ran towards the source of the explosion. It seemed that almost the whole 'Ark was awake now and moving. Men in black body armour moved forward through the group, and started to cut them off. "You can't go through, RARF and Ravens only" Elijah pushed forwards and held up his laminate, which had all his details and a Raven badge on. The man waved him forward before stopping the rest of the crowd through. The PA system started blaring "_Fire detected in living quarters, fire detected in living quarters"_ Elijah looked up, out the giant glass panes that made up a lot of the ceiling and could see thick black smoke pouring from an unseen fire on the other side of the living quarter's level.

He then realised that Edward and Tom's apartment was near where the smoke was billowing from. He started sprinting immediately. He didn't stop until he was outside their room, the door had broken off one of its hinges and the room was full of smoke. He ran in and started coughing and spluttering in the thick choking smoke. He couldn't see anything, the smoke filled his lungs and he began to choke. He stumbled out of the room and fell to his knees. He slowly rose to his feet and walked away. He hadn't seen them, but he wasn't sure that had seen anything.

He heard gunshots ring out from where he had come and the sound of people screaming echoed down. They were getting restless and wanted to see what had happened. As he walked he saw a small envelope stuck to the wall, he pulled it away and opened it, in an untidy scrawl, were the words, _This is retribution _Someone had to see this, if more attacks were going to occur, then this had to be stopped. Elijah turned in the opposite direction to where he had been heading and ran toward the office of Governor Desmond, he would know what to do.

He sat in a small room with white washed walls and no windows for longer than he cared to remember before someone came to see him. A small man with short black hair walked in and said, "The Governor will see you now" Elijah stood up and walked after the man, they turned a corner and stopped at a large metal security door. A pair of armed guards stood either side of the door, SMGs held in a loose position. The man moved over to a small keypad and typed in a code, the light blinked green and the doors slid open. The two guards stepped aside. They walked into a large open room, the wall to the front of them was a single sheet of glass, the last of the afternoon sun streaming in, tinting everything an orange-red colour. Closer to them was an ornate wooden desk with a green leather top, several papers and files scattered across it. Behind it sat Governor Desmond, the man he had come to see. The man who had leaded him in turned around and left via the door and it closed with an ominous clunk.

Desmond put down the piece of paper that he was looking at and peered at Elijah. Elijah caught a glimpse of the paper he was reading, it looked like a damage report. Desmond's deep voice shocked Elijah back into focus, "I understand that you wish to speak to me?" Elijah swallowed and said "Yes, after the incident today I found a note stuck to the wall, I think you should read it" Desmond took the piece of paper from Elijah, put of a pair of reading glasses, and quickly read it

As soon as he was done, he folded the piece of paper in half and put it in a drawer in his desk and put away his glasses. Desmond looked up at Elijah, "This is nothing that I expected from any of the clans that reside in the 'Ark. Something must be done" Elijah shifted his weight from one leg to the other while Desmond sat and stared out the window. Desmond spoke suddenly, shocking Elijah back, "Thank you Elijah, you can leave now" Elijah stood for a second, expecting some sort of explanation, but none was coming, Desmond just sat with his back to him, staring out the window at the sun that had now finally set.

Elijah was fuming, was Desmond really going to do anything? Or was he just going to sit and think or act and sort out the problem. Elijah started towards the hanger, and didn't stop when he walked past Edward. He turned and started after Elijah, "Elijah!" he shouted, but he didn't even think about stopping, he need time to think. Edward shouted again, but still Elijah ignored him, why wouldn't he leave him alone? Edward ran after him as Elijah turned the corner that lead to the catwalk. As soon as he was half way across, Edward caught up with him and spun him around by the shoulder. "What's wrong?" said Edward, with worry on his face. The bandage that covered a side of his head was still in place. "I need time to think" Said Elijah, not looking at him. Edward let go, Elijah continued down the catwalk. As he was about to pass though the doors and head towards the ACs that were on loan, Berlioz walked past and dropped a small piece of paper in to his pocket. Elijah stopped to speak to him, but he had moved on too fast. He pulled the piece of paper out and unfolded it. On it was written two strings of letters and numbers, the first had _Door_ and the second had _Supplice_ next to it. Elijah knew exactly what they were and headed towards Berlioz's hanger. He inputted the first code to the door, and the light flickered green. He stepped in and was yet again struck by the sheer gracefulness of the Armored Core that stood before him. Elijah climbed up the ladder that lead to the access hatch at the back. He put the second code into the keypad and the hatch opened with a faint hiss. He climbed in, and the light was cut off as the opening above him closed. He sat in the seat and began the start up procedure, the screens in front of him came to life and a voice rang out, with crystal clear quality, _Welcome Elijah_. He didn't move. This thing knew who was in it? He slowly continued to fire up the AC, then another voice rang though the cockpit, this one was real, human. "Raven Elijah, you have accessed an Armored Core unit that belongs to the Ninebreaker Berlioz, if you do not disengage immediately, you will be shot on…. Wait what? What do you mean you let...? I see, Raven Elijah you are cleared to leave the 'Ark" The gantry that held Supplice in place pulled away and the doors in front of him opened up. He moved forwards, slowly, and set the AC to Normal Mode.

He walked out on the deck of the 'Ark, it was completely void of any life. The light that streamed out from the hanger was the only source of illumination. Supplice moved to the edge and peered over, the massive expanse of nothing below him. He thought of just dropping off the edge, but that wouldn't solve anything. He turned to the north, towards the east coast of North America, and fired up the over booster. The ear-splitting roar the emanated from behind him grew to an all most unbearable level before all the energy was released in one massive burst. He was shoved back into the seat; the extreme g force caught him unaware. He had forgotten that this wasn't any old AC, Supplice was kitted out with the best and most powerful boosters that Rayleonard had to offer.

He just let the AC fly forwards, not even aiming it, just tapping the main boosters every so often to keep Supplice level. The computer blared a warning at him, saying that the OB unit was beginning to overheat, so Elijah eased off the throttle and let the AC fall. He was just about to drop through the cloud layer when the ruins of an old skyscraper came at him. He quickly shot to the side to avoid colliding with it. As he continued descending, he could see the buildings around him.

He slowly came to a standstill in the middle of a crossroads. Elijah looked around, nothing moved except him. He walked towards an old office block, his head reaching up to the fifth story, and peered in, they wasn't enough light to see so Elijah engaged the light enhancer and the whole thing lit up. It was trashed, chairs and bins were over turned, desks were flipped over and computers were smashed in. Without thinking he raised the right arm rifle and smashed it though the window, ripping it along, sweeping everything to one side. He took a step back and began pumping rounds into the building.

Every shot felt like a release, every round was part of his pain and anger leaving him, everything that had happened, John's death, his president's inability to act like a leader, his constant worry about losing more friends. Everything he felt came crashing down in one great tidal wave of pain. He screamed and both rifles blazing the buildings around him exploded into fragments of glass and metal, Elijah was aware of nothing, but the sound of weapon fire and the sound of his world falling to pieces around him. He flicked the grenade launcher over his shoulder and fired it straight into the building in front of him; the central screen was filled with fire as the round detonated only metres away. The air became glass, Elijah lashed out with the rifles again, the dull roar was somewhat comforting, a building collapsed next to him, everything went grey, more rounds tore though metal, and the world became chaos. The magazines ran dry, so did his tears. He collapsed, he didn't care, and he didn't know if anyone would find him. Supplice crumpled, and toppled over. Elijah fell into unconsciousness.

Something was carrying him. He opened his eyes and felt himself moving. He activated the optical unit, nothing else, and the screen became bright white. The sun was high, and was being blocked out every so often by something, he turned his head to get a better look, but couldn't make out the AC, it was white though and something was flying in the distance, an angel?

Elijah was in bed when he awoke, no one was in the room. He sat up and propped himself up with his hands. He peered into the blackness, but he still couldn't see anything. Reaching over, he flicked on the light next to him. The room was completely empty, the walls reflecting the light back at him. He flipped the duvet off him and got out of bed. He put on some loose trousers and a sweatshirt and walked out of his room. The dark was overwhelming, he started towards the elevators. He hit the button and the doors parted instantly and he walked in, the cool air rushed over him and was a welcome relief from the hot stuffiness of the living quarters. He stepped into the elevator and hit the button with _Deck_ embossed on it. He felt the increase in G's as he began to ascend. He slumped against the glass wall, he stared at the door, not moving. The elevator stopped and the doors slid open and Elijah was hit by a wall of ice cold air. He ignored it, and walked out onto the deck. It was silent, nothing except the soft howl of the wind. He stood, right on the lip, staring into the distance. He thought, how long would it take to hit the water? Would he survive, or would it lead to an early demise. Even then, being a Raven was considered to have the highest mortality rate of any occupation.

The thought of death drew a dark, unwanted subject into his mind, crawling unbidden from the depths of his mind. John's funeral was due, and he didn't want to be there, just seeing the casket, let alone carrying it to the transporter. Every dead Raven, whether they have a body or not, is buried at a specific location. It is simply referred to as The Burial Grounds. At the centre, there is a monument, an enormous, gleaming metal Raven, to honour those who died at the first Raven's Ark, surrounding it are dozens of singular graves, everyone containing a Raven that fell in combat. To put that in perspective, never has a Raven died by natural causes, it's become almost a tradition, and no one wants to break it. One Raven, who was pushing 60, dropped himself into the middle of a Leonemeccanica MT battalion. He fell, but out of the 850 MT's that were there, only 200 walked away.

Elijah pushed it to the back of his mind; he would deal with that tomorrow. He was beginning to shiver, and was about to turn around when someone walked up beside him. In the dark he could make out who it was until they spoke. "I've never come out here before, it's nice, peaceful" Berlioz was wearing his customary black jumpsuit, did he wear nothing else? "What happened, the last thing I really remember was landing in the city, everything else is just a blur" Berlioz didn't move but responded, "Edward and Leonhardt found you at a crossroad in the down town section of the former Washington DC, you had taken out half a city block before they found you collapsed, weapons dry. You needed to vent, I thought I could help, you don't have an AC yet, so I thought you could take mine, at least I could have paid for any damage you might have caused" Elijah nodded, but didn't think Berlioz saw so he said, "Thank you, I just needed to get away, I don't remember firing anything." Berlioz laughed and said, "You burned though 1500 rounds of ammunition, if you don't remember that then you've got issues" Elijah smiled riley and said, "Maybe I have got issues, maybe there is something wrong with me." Berlioz didn't say anything, did he agree? "You've been asleep for nearly a whole day, you should go and find something to do" Elijah shrugged, "What is there to do, I don't have an AC to work on, I've clocked over 300 hundred hours in the simulator and the cafeteria is closed until morning"

Berlioz said, "Rosenthal is having a weapons demonstration in the desert only 10Km from here, I was given an invitation to see, did you want to come?" Elijah continued to stare, but replied "Sure, when is it?" "In half an hour, you'll need to get changed"

They were in the dropship twenty minutes later, the dull roar filling the tiny space. Berlioz leaned over and had to shout because nothing else would be heard, "Not the most comfortable form of transport is it!" Elijah, despite being next to him yelled, "No, it really isn't!" From the small windows that lined the walls, light began to stream in, indicating that morning had come. Elijah felt his stomach rising, the dropship was descending. The rust red plains surrounded them for miles, the coast to the east. Several men were walking around, weapons at their sides. He could see people in suits, corporation officials and businessmen. Slightly further out was something big, covered in a huge sheet of fabric. He was jolted out of his thought by the sudden landing and the harnesses came loose. They stood up and walked to the ramp that was now lowering. The now bright sun blinded Elijah before his eyes adjusted.

Berlioz walked forwards, towards several men standing around a control console. Elijah moved towards where the largest group of people was. Berlioz was already next to him, when the people that had been speaking to Berlioz earlier, walked up to the cloth covered object. Someone was holding a microphone when they spoke, "Thank you gentlemen for coming this morning, we at Rosenthal are dedicated to creating the very best for our customers" He paused, then continued, "You are all gathered here today, to witness the very latest weapons technology that Rosenthal has to offer, we hope that something similar to the prototype before you will be available on the open market in the months." He paused again, "We were trying to backwards engineer the technology found in Noblesse Oblige's 'Wing Cannons' when we created something, not to dissimilar. Rosenthal is proud to give you, a working prototype of the R010 Linear Accelerator Cannon, more commonly known among its creators, as the first combat capable Railgun"

There was a collective intake of breath as the cloth was swept from the colossal cannon. It was, without a doubt, the ugliest looking thing that Elijah had ever laid eyes on, but it did look formidable. Some perked up, "You said, 'Working' prototype did you not?" "Yes, this is fully capable of live firing, and that is exactly what you are about to see" Everyone looked down from their position, to see a standard issue GA MT standing only 300 metres away from them. A sudden hum of energy resonated from the weapon. The barrel split into two parallel hemi-cylinders, an electric current ran though them, arcing between the two barrel halves. The air was filled with a terrible whine then it sounded like thunder stuck them where they stood, an earth shaking _Crack_ shattered the silence. A line of fire was left, etched into Elijah's vision, he looked at the MT, it was gone, nothing left except scrap metal and a small smoking crater. Berlioz was stunned, he looked like someone had sucked the life out of him. Then he said, "I had no idea they had progressed this far." Elijah leaned over and said "What are you on about?" "Nothing you needn't worry about" Many of the observer were crowded around the weapon when Berlioz walked away. Elijah looked at the cannon one last time before he turned and followed Berlioz back to the dropship.


	9. 8: Everyday Combat

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

Elijah woke to the sound of his computer bleeping at him. He rolled out of bed and started towards the computer, stubbing his toe along the way. Cursing, he continued towards the computer. As he sat down he saw what had woken him up, an E-Mail, from Berlioz. He hit the read button and started from the top.

_To: Elijah, Raven. From: Berlioz, Ninebreaker._

He paused at the title that Berlioz's name carried. What was a Ninebreaker? He pushed it to the back of his mind, he would ask Edward when he wasn't unconscious, and he continued reading.

_Elijah, I hope that you can remember that I asked you would work with me, so I have a mission for us, it has a higher risk level than the missions you normally would take, but I'll be there with you. You need to get to Leonemeccanica's office within the next half-hour or I'll leave without you. I'll see you there, or not._

_Berlioz_

Elijah ran over to his cupboard and started to try and cram himself into a standard issue jumpsuit. As soon as he was in it and sealed, he was running for the office.

He ran at full pelt down the narrow corridors, nearly knocking down the cleaner that was working there, racing for the doors into the office. He burst in and had to\slide to a stop to prevent himself running Berlioz down. Berlioz just looked at his watch. "You're three minutes late" He started to walk towards a computer mounted into a small desk. "Come here." Elijah walked over to him, looking puzzled. "I thought you wanted me for a mission?" "I do, but the mission isn't for another three hours, I want to give you sufficient time to build your own Armored Core." Elijah just stared at him open mouthed. "I don't have enough money for my own AC, I had to borrow one from Rosenthal for my last mission and I still owe them for that one, I can't afford it" "You won't have to, I'm paying" The corner of Elijah's mouth twitched "You mean, I'll have access to your funds to build my own AC?" "Yes" Elijah grinned and raced over to the computer and started to put together a schematic.

One hour later he stepped back and turned to Berlioz. "Done." Berlioz nodded and hit the upload button. They both turned to the hanger, where huge metal racks started to cycle through parts and move them into position. When the head, core, arms and legs were in place, the racks were replaced with ones full of weapons. When the weapons were equipped, the racks slid away and large mechanical arms with paint sprays started to apply the selected paint scheme. When it was over, the arms retracted back into the ceiling. Berlioz looked it over. It was a combination of Rayleonard, Rosenthal and BFF parts with some Leonemeccanica thrown in. The weapons consisted of a pair of Rayleonard heavy machine guns in its hands, a full complement of Leonemeccanica Auto-Seeking missiles and in his hanger slots he had equipped a Rosenthal laser blade and a Rayleonard sidearm. The colour that Elijah had chosen was a red and black combo with blue highlights. Elijah suddenly cocked his head slightly, "Hey, i've picked the same head piece as Supplice, how is that possible I thought it was custom made?" Berlioz grinned slightly, "I liked Rayleonard's stardard head so I chose it over a custom unit"

Berlioz looked over at Elijah's design, "I like it, but now you need to give it a name." Elijah looked at Berlioz "I have to name it?" "Well as it's your AC it should be yours in every aspect, rather than a model number." Elijah leaned over the keyboard and hit five keys. As he leaned back, Berlioz's screen updated it's self. Now not only did it have the model numbers for all the parts in Elijah's AC, it now had a name. _AC: Havok._ Berlioz smiled and said "Right then, the flight is one and a half hours so we should load up as soon as possible." Elijah and Berlioz started towards the hanger.

Elijah climbed into the cockpit of Havok. As he sat down the onboard computer started to turn on, and screens flickered to life. As power started to flow through the machine, it stood up to its total height of 11.2 metres. The computer suddenly barked _"Normal mode engaged"_ Elijah started forward, the movement felt fluid, he continued towards the huge transporter that would take them to the mission area. He turned the head piece to the left and saw Supplice walking out of its personal hanger. Elijah opened a communication channel with Berlioz, "Can you hear me?" The radio squawked back at him "I can hear you, now move into the transporter." Havok turned and stomped up the loading ramp and turned round to face the exit. Supplice followed moments later. Several clamps locked them into position.

The flight was bumpy but undisturbed. When they were only five minutes from the drop point, a light flashed on Elijah's Heads Up Display. "Only five minutes left" Muttered Elijah. Suddenly the plane banked sharply to the left. The radio squawked at him "Elijah, someone is firing missiles at the transporter, were dropping early, get ready!" The door at the back opened and Supplice walked to the edge and proceeded to jump out the back. As soon as he was clear a massive explosion rocked the plane sending it into a hard right barrel-roll. Elijah started panicking and radioed the pilot, "What's happening!" We got hit" replied the pilot "We lost the whole right wing, were bailing out!" As he heard this, two dull thuds resounded though the craft sounding that the pilot and co-pilot had ejected. Elijah dis-engaged the clamps holding him in. But as he did this, a bright red warning message flashed up on his HUD. _WARNING CLAMP FAILURE._ Clamp failure? That meant he couldn't get out, he was trapped in a plane falling out of the sky to certain death, and there was nothing he could do.

He felt the adrenaline rush though is system, and everything became much easier to process. He was trapped, so make himself, not trapped. He raised the machine guns horizontally over each other at opposite sides and began to blow holes in the clamps holding him in and the sides of the plane.

He saw the 88x210mm shells tearing through the hull like Paper-Mache. With a wrenching screech, the clamps detached and fell away. His back slammed into the front of the plane which had started to nose dive towards the ground. He kicked his over-boost into gear and shot out the open hatch in the back. Berlioz's voice came though then, "Elijah? Elijah, can you hear me?" "Yeah, I can hear you" "Thank god, I thought you had gone down with the transport, what about the pilots?" "Don't worry; they got out before I did." Elijah touched down with only the slightest bump. He looked over to the east and saw a flaming trail slam into the side of a near by mountain. Supplice landed next to him. "Come on we still have a mission to do"

The pair reached the target within minutes. They stopped on a small hill only 500 metres from front gate. Elijah looked over at Berlioz, "How are we going to do this then?" Inside his AC, Berlioz grinned, "Shock, and Awe." He suddenly gunned his over-boost and shot through the gate. He span round using a sharp shot from his side booster and start firing his rifles at the nearest guard tower. In the pitch black, it appeared that the base was under attack by a well armed, rocket powered demon. Elijah joined in firing salvoes from his AS missiles systems. Berlioz turned round and started on a group of MT's that were marching toward him, machine guns blaring away, completely ineffective. Elijah walked through the blown out gate and immediately gunned down an old Moonlight guard walker that had being trying to sneak up on him. Elijah heard a deep rumbling and looked up. He saw three dropships, smaller than the transporter that had dropped them in. Their bellies opened up and disgorged several "Behemoth- Class" MT's.

Berlioz opened up, firing his rifles at the descending MT's. One round caught an MT in its knee, causing it to go limp. The MT's thrusters weren't enough to support it when it landed. As soon as it hit the ground it crumpled into a heap, and didn't move again. The other MT's landed with a dull thud and began firing their large-bore bazookas at Berlioz. He shot to the side, still firing at the amassed group that was attacking him. Elijah boosted round to the back of the group and began emptying his machine guns into their backs. Half the group turned around and raised the huge metal shields attached to their forearms, covering the rear of the other half that continued to fire on Berlioz. Suddenly a group of standard MT's appeared out of no-where and raised their machine guns at Berlioz. He spun round the face the new threat, but had to reload his rifles, he couldn't fire back, and he was defenceless in the face of this enemy. There was nothing he could do.

As the MT's machine guns began firing, Elijah could have sworn that the air around Supplice shimmed, and crackled as if an electric current was arcing though it. A soon as the shells got within two metres of him they suddenly exploded against a perfectly spherical ball of yellow-tinged energy. Berlioz raised his now loaded rifles and started to demolish the group that had attacked him, all the while their munitions just washed over him. After the ambush group was dealt with, he turned to finish off the Behemoths. Elijah opened up on their shields, slowly whittling them away until the shells began slamming into their chests and arms. Berlioz unfurled a huge 200x310mm Arisaka-200-1A Grenade Launcher and fired. The massive shell hit dead centre of the Behemoth group blowing them into fragments. Elijah could hear pieces of metal pinging of his AC.

As smoke began pouring into the sky, Elijah walked over to Berlioz, "What was that, how did you stop them hitting you?" Berlioz grinned inside his AC "Experimental technology developed by Rayleonard, they call it 'Primal Armour', I don't know what powers it but it has been immensely useful." As he said this they both detected something closing in on them at extreme speed. Elijah started to track it with his machine guns. It looked like an Armored Core, but it appeared to have a massive rocket pack attached to it. As soon as it was within engagement distance the rocket pack detached its self and disintegrated. The AC landed and ploughed a long gouge in the tarmac. The unknown AC opened up a com channel to Berlioz. "Armored Core Supplice, this is the AC Purity, I have been assigned to defend this facility and destroy any threats in the area, if you do not leave, I will be forced to engage you." Berlioz knew who sent her; the Armored Core Purity was the Bernard and Felix Foundation's pride and joy. It was piloted by the Raven Empress.

The AC Purity was a mid to lightweight model armed with a large calibre sniper rifle and a light weight laser blade. On its shoulders were an advanced sensor suite and a 250x1050mm sniper cannon for extreme range engagements. "Raven Empress, you seem to mis-understand the situation, you are outnumbered and outgunned, stand down and you can leave without injury." Elijah saw an opportunity to attack Purity, he took it. Gunning his over-boost he shot forwards, machine guns blazing. Purity suddenly wasn't in front of him. He cut off his OB and spun round. He was then staring down the barrel of her sniper rifle. "Bad move" Said Empress and fired.

Elijah's optics suddenly went dead as the 140mm high-velocity-armour-piercing-discarding-sabot or HVAPDS round shattered his head piece into fragments. His Armored Core toppled over backwards landing on his back. He raised his right arm and blazed away with his machine gun in sheer desperation hoping to score a lucky hit. He chipped her armour, but nothing more. Empress fired up her laser blade and sliced his arm off at the elbow, and then proceeded to put a bullet in his other arm rendering it useless. Elijah opened up his cockpit and walked out. He saw Purity standing over him. He heard Berlioz scream over the com channel "Get down!" Elijah saw a bright light glow behind Purity, and she turned to see what he was looking at. Elijah dived behind his wrecked AC as cover, he heard a _swoosh_ then a massive explosion and a flash of light. Purity suddenly went flying over his head and slammed into the asphalt 40 metres away from him. He poked his head over the wreck and saw an awe- inspiring sight. As he stared at the machine in the sky, he heard an unfamiliar voice crackle over the com channel, "Raven Elijah, this is the Armored Core Noblesse Oblige, can you hear me?"

That thing was an AC? Why didn't he ever get parts like that, and what were on its shoulders, wings? Supplice suddenly shot towards the downed Purity, which was now trying to get up, and smashed it in the right arm with his rifle. With its sniper rifle out of the game, he assumed she was not going to put up a fight. Instead she stabbed Supplice in the lower body and ripped the laser out the side. All function to Supplice's lower half ceased and he fell to the side, landing in a heap. Purity stood up, only to have Noblesse Oblige appear in front of her. He could hear them speaking over the com channel, "Stand down Leonhardt, this isn't your fight" "I was asked to assist a fellow Raven, I can't ignore a plea for help" "You and your self righteous way, you don't care about them, you are just trying to up hold your corporation's image" "Tread carefully Empress, you know not what you are saying" Purity lunged at Noblesse' "A poor decision" said Leonhardt and grabbed Purity by the neck and tossed the AC into a near by building. He then fired up a bright purple laser blade and sliced off Purity's head piece, and then emptied his rifle into her core.

It was only half an hour before another transport picked them up. Leonhardt left by his own power. Havok was in a bad state, missing an arm at the elbow, his other arm crippled, various bullet holes from the engagement with the MT's, his head was going to need replacing and his core and legs were blackened from Noblesse Oblige's mysterious weapon. He sat in a small chair bolted to the side of the transport as it was uncomfortable to sit in his AC. Berlioz walked up to, he looked beside himself with fury. "What the hell was that, were you trying to kill yourself!" "No" said Elijah "Then what" "I wanted to actually achieve something" Berlioz just stared, and then laughed, "Achieve something?, you already did that when you survived the mission John didn't! You didn't need to take on the number five Raven to do that." Elijah looked up, surprised "If she was so good then how did Leonhardt take her out so easy, and how did she cripple you?" Berlioz groaned "She caught me by surprise, I was careless and underestimated her, and Leonhardt is number three so he wouldn't have had too much trouble, even if he didn't blind-side her with his cannons."

Elijah's eyes widened, "Yeah, what with those wing things on his back, are they his cannons?" "Yes, Rosenthal bought six prototype direct energy weapons or DEW from Leonemeccanica and moulded them into a custom six barrelled laser cannon in the shape of a pair of wings, they gave it to Leonhardt as a gift, how do you know his name?" Elijah looked sheepish, "Empress and Leonhardt were communicating over an open channel…" Berlioz butted in "What did they say?" Elijah replayed the speech to Berlioz over a speaker, "Stand down Leonhardt, this isn't your fight. I was asked to assist a fellow Raven; I can't ignore a plea for help. You and your self righteous way, you don't care about them, you are just trying to up hold your corporation's image. Tread carefully Empress; you know not what you are saying. A poor decision." Berlioz's brow furrowed, "That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense." Elijah stood up, "So what now?" Berlioz turned on him, "The information you have provided has me interested, but your actions today can't be ignored, with my power as the number one Raven, I hereby suspend your licence until you can pass a procedure test in the simulator."


	10. 9: Almost Home

AN: Hey, just to say sorry for the late upload, got distracted, but the next upload will still be Monday! Enjoy!

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

3rd Day in Detroit

Nick turned to the Medic and said, "So, what's your name then?" "Sergeant David Thrace, 33rd Leonemeccanica Infantry". Nick looked confused, "33rd, when were you deployed, I thought the only units here were the 42nd Infantry and the 3rd Mechanised?" The medic stopped and said "The 3rd Mechanised has been completely destroyed and the 42nd has been routed, we were dropped in with the 6th Armoured Brigade to try and hold them off while the dropships picked up survivors. High Command sent me here, to the last known transmission of one Lance Corporal Nicholas Hale and Private Kyle Johnson, do you what squad they were in?" Nick just stared straight ahead. The 42nd and 3rd were gone? What took them out, there was only suppose to be a single enemy mechanised unit in this section of the city.

Then it hit him, Leonemeccanica High Command would have only sent a Raven in, if there was another Raven in the area. Nick grabbed David to stop him walking and spun him round to face him. "How many men in the 33rd?!" David looked at him with a look of utter bewilderment and said "About 350, why?" Nick looked like a mad man as he said, "Didn't you think as to how a force of superior numbers and firepower was defeated by a single platoon of enemy units" "No" "What is the one thing that would be able to engage a superior force and win." Realisation washed over the face of David as he started to think along the same lines as Nick. "Christ, they called in a Raven, we had them, but now we're going to be massacred."

Then Nick grinned. "What's so funny?!" yelled David, "Our men are going to be slaughtered like cattle!" "Maybe, maybe not, Leonemeccanica called in their own gun-for-hire" David's eyebrows rose, "Really?" "Yeah, took out an MT that had me in its sights" Nick started walking again, David waited a second before following. He checked the Heads-Up-Display on the inside of his helmet and said, "We should be there soon, you never said if you knew Nicholas Hale or Kyle Johnson." Nick smiled slightly, "I'm afraid Kyle didn't make it, I am Lance Corporal Nick Hale."

David stared at him, still walking. "Did Leonemeccanica's Raven say his name?" "She never said, her AC is called 'White Sparrow' though" David nodded, "A woman, didn't know they were allowed to apply" "Yeah sure, why not, we have woman in the infantry?" David shrugged, "Suppose" The sun was falling behind the buildings, making it harder to make out what was in front of them. A low rumbling distracted them and they fell into a low crouch, weapons raised. The rumbling got louder and the pair split up and began moving to the opposite sides of the road. Then a spot light flared into life and centred on David. A man speaking on a megaphone suddenly began blaring out, "Sergeant David Thrace, Lance Corporal Nicholas Hale, Private Kyle Johnson, are you out there?

David walked out into the road waving his arms in the air; he yelled back, "Who is this?" "2nd Lieutenant Artemis Serper, Tank Commander, 6th Armoured Brigade" Nick let out a sigh of relief, friendlies. He walked out into the glare of the spotlight, it focused on him. "Who are you" said Artemis. "Lance Corporal Nick Hale" "And where is Private Kyle Johnson?" David answered this time, "He's KIA back that way" No response. Then the megaphone blared again, "Ok, are either of you injured" Nick looked over to David, trying to tell him not to say anything, but he didn't notice. "Yeah, Hale was caught in the air strike and suffered severe trauma to his right leg" Nick yelled then, "I'm fine sir, just send me back in" David looked at him, exasperated and said "He's just fine because of the morphine sir, he's barely standing" Nick gave in, no point arguing with a medic.

The rumbling started again, and the spotlight turned. He caught the outline of the vehicle that it was mounted on. A huge tank was turning on the spot moving away from them now. "Follow the tank!" Yelled David. Nick hadn't noticed, but the sun had almost set and the tall ruins around them threw black shadows across the road. The sudden loss of the sun, also sucked the heat out of the air. He could see his breath clouding in front of his face, however the thick padding in his under clothing, beneath his body armour was more than enough to keep him warm, but his leg was starting to hurt more than before. He looked over at David.

"Hey, can you give me another shot of morphine, just to get me to the base?" David ran over and said "I'll give you a half shot, same effect but it won't last as long." The needle slid into his arm with little resistance. The pain numbing feeling crept back into his leg. They walked together and then as the sun finally set, the city was drowned in darkness, the sky line illuminated for brief flashes due to explosions in the distance. That was the place that all soldiers feared. The Killzone, the centre of the conflict, whether it was in a grassy field, or on the side of a mountain, getting deployed there was like the commander signing your death certificate in front of you.

The tank slowed and began to turn a corner in the pitch black. They followed, stumbling over the uneven tarmac, pitted and pot-holed by weapons fire, around the corner and were shocked to see a large, pre-fabricated wall looming over them. The gates slid open with a screech and grinding sound. Artimis climbed out of the tank and jumped to the ground. Now that Nick could see him better, he seemed a completely unremarkable man. Standing only 5,6" and wearing a simple light green jumpsuit, he could have been passed off as an ordinary soldier, rather than a tank commander. He had short cut hair, and a P32 sidearm on his belt.

The trio walked through the gate and into a large military camp, set up between two buildings. Further down he could see a pair of dropships, laden with troops, take off and soar into the sky, before banking and heading towards the Killzone. Nick was about to ask how the battle was going when he heard the faint roar of jet engines. Artemis turned around, squinting into the pitch black. Then he muttered something under his breath and unhooked the small wireless that was attached to his jumpsuit. He spoke quickly, but clearly saying, "Position 3, you've got an incoming hostile bearing at your 8'o'clock, take him down." The radio squawked back "Yes sir, I have him in my sights" then a slight pause, before the radio squawked again, "Missile away!" Nick could see in the distance, a small red dot with a faint trail of smoke, suddenly shoot into the sky, only to explode spectacularly a second later.

Artemis grinned, "Another kill in the bag" Nick glared at him, who could take any form of pleasure from killing people, whether you were at war or not? David was wearing a similar expression and began to walk toward the mess hall that was situated next to a small bombed out building. Nick was about to turn and join him when Artemis grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "You aren't going anywhere, you need to get your leg checked out, there's only so much a medic can do." Nick begrudgingly agreed. His leg was starting to bother him and David had said that he would need serious medical treatment or he would lose his leg, and that would be something he would not be looking forward to.

The medical tent was large, but still managed to feel cramped and stuffy. People with white aprons splattered with blood walked around carrying trays of equipment and other things that Nick didn't like the look of. He hadn't even spent five seconds inside when someone grabbed him by the shoulder and almost dragged him over to a chair and began to slice open the bindings around his leg. Someone walked over and stabbed him the arm with a needle. The effect was immediate, Nick felt himself slip away.


	11. 10: Carpe Diem

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

As they pulled into the hanger, he could see Edward standing there, he looked worried. The transport touched down and the ramp opened. Edward rushed up, "Elijah, I heard about the ambush, are you all right?" Elijah sighed "Yeah, I'm fine." Edward looked at him funny "What is it" "My licence has been suspended". "Oh, Berlioz suspended it?" Elijah nodded. "Yep, says I have to pass a procedure test in the simulator before I get it back." Edward nodded "Come on, you look like you haven't eaten in a week, let's get something down you before you pass out."

As they were queuing for the food, Elijah turned his head towards Edward and said "What's a Ninebreaker?" Edward shot him a strange looked and replied "Before the entertainment sector was complete, the corporations used to hold arena matches between Ravens as a sport, and for 7 or so years, one man held the position of number one." Elijah stared at him, waiting for him to continue, "This man was known only by an alias "Hustler One" and he piloted the Armored Core NineBall, now he was thought be the best Raven that had ever existed until someone entered the ranks of the Ravens and began ascending the Arena, now it's not known what his name was or the AC he used, but eventually, he was number two, and this meant he had one more opponent, Hustler One. He fought him in a battle out of three, and in the last fight, NineBall's thrusters malfunctioned and he shot into the sky before exploding. The unknown raven became known as Ninebreaker. It's not known what happened to Hustler One, whether he died or not is a complete mystery." Elijah whistled "And how long ago was that?" "I don't really know about 30 maybe more years ago, the world had only just retreated to the underground cities so maybe less we don't know, when the year of destruction occurred we lost track of time, so we don't really have a definitive history." Elijah was so lost in the story that it took the guy behind him two pokes before Elijah snapped out of it and moved forwards.

As they turned to sit down another man walked up to them with an overflowing tray of food and sat down next to Edward. "Hello Tom" said Edward grinning slightly. Tom looked over to Elijah and said "Hi, I'm Tom" and outstretched his hand to Elijah. He took it and shook it once. Elijah picked up his fork and began stabbing at his food, he wasn't that hungry surprisingly. Elijah looked up from his food and asked to Edward, "How long have you been here?" "About five or six years" "So how many people to you know?" said Elijah as he pointed his fork at various people sat around them. Edward turned around took look at the occupants of the mess hall. He pointed at a woman with a shoulder length pony-tail of brown hair; she was about five foot five and had a slender frame. "That is Mary-Shelly, she is one of BFF's Ravens and she pilots the Armored Core Prometheus" Elijah frowned, "I thought that Empress was BFF's Raven?" "She is, but Empress is BFF's current favourite, she replaced Mary-Shelly about six months ago." Elijah continued to look confused, "Why?" Edward shrugged, "Mary-Shelly had been BFF's golden girl for awhile, and when Empress joined them, they decided that it was time for a change." Elijah nodded and looked at a man wearing a white jumpsuit with a golden cross on the back. Edward followed his gaze and said "That's Priest, he is an independent and pilots the Armored Core Prophet, not much to say about him, a bit strange and he is fond of quoting religious phrases during battle." Elijah looked at a middle-eastern man sitting on his own near the corner. This time, Tom answered, "That weirdo over there, that's Allid he's another independent and pilots the Armored Core Sobraro, a really weird AC and a really weird pilot, never seen those parts on the shelf or anything like it on the custom AC's used by the corporations, I think it's a new prototype that he stole and no-one wants to admit that they made it, so they let him have it. Gotta say though, that thing looks weak, but moves like a cricket on speed or something."

Elijah didn't point anyone else out and ate in silence. Once he was done he wandered of to his room and collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

He woke with the feeling of being well refreshed and rested, but had suffered a strange dream in the process. He pushed it to the back of his head and sat up in bed. Then a memory flashed though his head. He had a simulation with Berlioz this morning. He got out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe and began to put on his jumpsuit. As soon as it was secure, he wandered over to his refrigerator and pulled out a protein shake, downed it in one and walked over to the door and started towards the elevator.

He walked in a saw him straight way. Berlioz walked over to him and gestured towards the machine in the centre of the room. He got in and strapped in to prevent himself from falling out at any point. Berlioz then loaded up the program into the simulator. Elijah picked up the visor in front of him and put it on, popping the earphones in as well. He then lay back and began to relax. Berlioz then loaded up Elijah's Armored Core schematic Havok and pressed run. The words _Program Started_ flashed up in front of him.

Suddenly he was falling, out of the sky, he knew the AC he was in, Havok was burning, tumbling out of control, falling. Adrenaline rushed though him and he became animated. He kicked his thrusters into full power, only to have them cough and splutter. He kicked his legs out, trying to stabilise himself. As soon as this happened he felt pieces of armour pealing away as the friction stripped chunks out of him. He hit the thrusters again, this time they caught and fired up with a reassuring roar. He felt his descent slow considerably. As the altimeter hit 1000 metres the thrusters exploded with a deafening bang, and his stomach hit the bottom of his lungs as Havok dropped like a dead weight. In desperation he fired up the over booster in an attempt to slow his fall.

The sudden blast from the booster shot him into the back of his seat. Elijah looked at the angle he was travelling at Havok was now moving at a negative 20 degrees and was going 1600 km/h. Elijah thought the OB could hold, but at 50 metres it exploded in a similar manner to the other thrusters. Elijah closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable impact.

He awoke to the sound of metat pinging of the armour of Havok. He unclipped himself from his seat and kicked out the hatch in the back. As he left he removed the Leonemeccanica "Viper" sub-machine gun. As he stepped out a hail of bullets flew at him. He ran for the nearest cover and was shocked to see a group of men huddled behind the concrete block, yelling at him. One of them grabbed him and dragged him behind them. "What are you doing here?" "I'm a Raven, my AC was taken out." One of the men to the side of him looked worried "But I thought that Ravens were the best?" Elijah grinned "We are, just some are better than others." A sudden explosion rocked them and they all ducked lower as dirt and rock showered them. Elijah poked his head out, only to see a man make a wild dash for the building to the left. Elijah shouldered the SMG and squeezed off a burst at the enemy.

He heard a strange squawk as the rounds caught him in the shoulder and span him round. Elijah didn't see him get up again, but he did see another soldier rush over to pick him up so he must have missed anything vital. He sprayed a load of bullets at him, and he ducked back behind cover, leaving his buddy in the open. The same person then stuck his rifle round the corner and emptied the magazine in his vague direction. Elijah crept back and turned to the soldier he had spoken to earlier, only to find him sitting there, with blood pumping out of a wound in his neck and upper torso, his body armour hadn't reached up far enough to protect him. Elijah just looked at the man next to him, who simply shook his head. Elijah then asked, "Who are you guys?" "33rd Leonemeccanica Infantry, they are the 42nd Rayleonard Mechanised" Elijah frowned, "If they're mechanised, where's their armour?" As he said that an 8 metre tall Moonlight wandered round the corner that the Rayleonard troops were hiding behind and started to fire its 90mm autocannon at them. Elijah got to his feet and sprinted to a piece of masonry that had fallen from a building where the remains of another squad rested. He slid in and grabbed a standard issue "Cobra" Assault rifle with a small anti armour attachment. He loaded a rocket and fired it at the approaching Moonlight. The rocket blew half the top of the body apart. The Moonlight toppled over, but as this happened a pair of Behemoths trudged down the street and fired their primary weapon, the 250mm bazooka.

The shell slammed into the last cover available, the same cover that the Leonemeccanica squad was hiding behind. Elijah saw one of the men start to run, but a Rayleonard soldier stood up and shot him in the back.

Elijah had seen enough, he ran, firing the assault rifle until the magazine ran dry. He heard the whistling of an anti armour attachment firing, and was hurdled the last few feet to Havok. He crawled into the AC and powered it up. The computer flashed up, warning him of massive damage to the mainframe. He didn't need to move anywhere. He raised one of his arms and began to blaze away at the approaching MT's. He didn't even know the people that had been killed, but still they had tried to help him. He looked further down the street and saw a whole platoon of MT's walking down towards him. They could bring it, he didn't care. He started to get more distance between them and shuffled backwards as his legs were disabled.

As soon as the machine gun ran dry, he dropped it, and drew the Rayleonard handgun, and failed to see the irony that he was taking out Rayleonard MT's with their own weapons. However, when that ran out of ammunition he switched to is right missile launcher only to find it had been smashed off in the impact. He had no alternative. He started to dump all plasma into the OB but didn't set it to fire; he just let it charge until it hit critical mass. He then aimed the rifle over his shoulder and fired the anti armour attachment into the drive causing it to explode with the same force as a 3 kiloton nuclear weapon.

Elijah suddenly found himself sitting the simulator. He had completely forgot that it was fake, he had be so taken in that he had committed martyrdom over a small group of soldiers that he had no idea who they were or what they had been fighting for, he simply joined in the fight and had watched those men die. Berlioz walked over to Elijah and said "From what I saw in there, you passed, and nothing that happened in there has to go any further than us."


	12. 11: Given Up

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

6th Day in Detroit

Nick was fastening the clasps on his boots when he reached down and felt his leg, the scar tissue stood out a mile, the nerves had been cut out, to prevent any further pain. He stood up and grabbed the body armour that hung on a post next to him, it weighed almost nothing, a composite of the highest grade polymers and high impact plastics, it was as hard as steel and didn't slow you down. Nick had lost his helmet after the airstrike that claimed the life of Private Johnson, and had been issued a replacement. This was a newer model, it had an integrated heads up display that was linked with his weapon and gave a constant readout of his vitals, so if he didn't know something was wrong, it would. Linking the HUD to his weapon allowed him to keep track of his remaining ammo, rounds fired, trajectories and overall accuracy. That information could help him improve his combat efficiency and keep him alive.

As the helmet was secured his he head he fed the cable that ran from his Cobra, and pushed it into the respective port in helmet. Instantly the helmet recognised the weapon, ran a check and then the cross hair flashed up, along with remaining rounds in the magazine. He tracked the weapon across the room and the cross hair followed his every movement. He attached the sling to the rifle and then slung it across his shoulder and the crosshair disappeared. He walked out of the small room and was surprised to find that rain was thundering down. Thick, driving rain that came down in sheets. He had only been outside for a couple of seconds, but he was already soaked though. He looked over at the centre of the road; a dropship had just landed, throwing water up around it. The ramp at the back opened up, and soldiers came marching out, more reinforcements to send into the fray. Did High Command care so little about the lives of their men? Were the values of the Corporation worth this much in human lives?

He brushed the thought aside and walked towards the dropship, its engines idling, the rain still pounding down on his shoulder, he began to shiver as the cold seeped in through the gaps in his armour, the padding below it was soaking up water and the freezing wind wasn't helping. As he got the loading ramp of the dropship, someone walked down and came up to him, "You LC Hale?" Nick looked surprised but replied, "Yeah?" "You've been volunteered to go to the Killzone, you need to get on this dropship and stay there until we leave, understood" "Yes Sir!" But he didn't even think about his response, the Killzone, the last place on Earth he wanted to go to. Suddenly the cold felt like nothing, as the icy fingers of fear clutched at his heart. He marched up the ramp and sat down, water dripping to the deck. His mind went blank, he didn't even notice when the other men began to crowd in with him. Someone was saying something, he wasn't listening. He began to shake, he wasn't even cold any more and fear froze him. The dropship's ramp lifted up and there was a dull thud as it sealed shut. He heard the engines roar and felt it lift from the ground, the sensation was similar to being in a helicopter, apparently, but as he had never been in one, he couldn't tell.

No one spoke, they just sat and stared at each other, they weren't even looking at each other, just at the wall behind them. Everyone knew what was coming; they knew most of them wouldn't return. Some shouted, "Weapon checks!" The sound of magazines being removed and replaced echoed around him. Nick didn't bother, he didn't care, he was going to die, it wasn't even his choice. He had been picked to charge into the meat grinder and no one cared if he lived or died, that was the harsh reality of this war, it was simply about keeping the money rolling. He knew that all the Corporations were in it together, they simply fought because it created an economy that added more figures onto their pay checks, a war economy, something that sickened him in its existence.

He felt the dropship descend, and was dreading the landing, that was the point which decided whether you would live through the fight, whether you would live to see another face. The dropship started to shake as anti-aircraft rounds began to shower around them, a few weary glances were sent between the men before something slammed into the side of them, sparks shot from panels and holes began to appear in the armour plating. Several soldiers jerked in their seats as rounds punched holes in them, red was sprayed across walls and people screamed.

This was the definition of Hell. Nick was jarred senseless as the dropship hit the ground, the light above the ramp turned green and the harnesses came loose, everyone stood up, some slumped forward and dropped to the deck, blood pouring from gaping wounds. They stood ready, someone yelled, "If you find yourself wallowing in knee deep mud, and the bodies of your friends, don't worry, because you're in Hell, and you're still not dead!" The ramp dropped with a crash and the men charged out, then the front line of soldiers was cut down, simply falling to the ground. Nick ran out into the torrential rain and dove to the ground. He landed in a puddle that came up to his neck, mud splashed up into his face and in his mouth, tiny explosions thundered around him as rounds landed next to him. He unslung his rifle and started crawling towards a huge lump of fallen masonry; he heard the dropship begin to pull away, only to hear the screech of a missile firing. Something blurred over him and he felt heat on his back. He rolled over and watched the dropship rise into the sky, before a small fireball slammed into one of the engines. It exploded with a shocking blast and the dropship began to fall back towards them, he could hear the pilot over the com unit, _"Oh crap, we lost the port engine, I can't level out, we've lost control, oh shit! BAIL BAI…!"_ He voice was cut short as the dropship slammed into the tarmac and mud, throwing huge clouds of dirt and water into the air. Then it exploded, fire and smoke billowed upwards. He could still hear the pilot's screams as he burned.

Nick clambered to his feet, mud lodged in his armour and ran for the nearest cover, something slammed into the dirt next to him, throwing him into the air. The world turned into a grey and brown blur before he came down to earth with a sharp jolt. Nothing made sense. More rounds pepper potted the ground around him and adrenaline coursed though his blood and he got to his feet again. This time he didn't bother moving, why did he even try to fight it, they sent him here to die, and why was it his call whether or not he did, it didn't matter. He raised his rifle and began emptying magazines into the clouds of smoke and dust. Someone cried out, and Nick shoved another mag into his weapon. More screams of pain. Then something caught him in the shoulder, he spun round and slammed into the mud for the third time now. It hurt, something burning, he didn't move, he didn't think, he gave up.


	13. 12: The Line Begins to Blur

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

Elijah awoke to the sound of feet pounding against the floor outside his room, accompanied by shouts and whispers. He rolled out of bed and put on his jumpsuit. As he opened the door he followed the crowd to the cafeteria. Was there a sale on? As he got into the now cramped room he noticed that everyone was gathered round the television. As he got closer he could hear what was being said, "We have just received word that Rayleonard's headquarters, Exavil has been subject to an attack of unknown intention, The building suffered only minor damage but has been evacuated in case of further attack. Victor Rayleonard has this to say on the incident. _"Whatever the purpose behind this attack, Rayleonard will continue to function as normal and have already launched an investigation, those responsible will be brought to justice"_ There has been reports that the number one Raven Berlioz has been deployed in efforts to find the group responsible for the attack." Elijah was stunned. Someone has the nerve to attack the most powerful force in existence, second only to the Ravens. Whoever it was must have some other plan, as any attack on Rayleonard would bring complete destruction on them.

Edward was working at his desk when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in" He was surprised when it was Berlioz who walked in. He looked worried, and closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry for disturbing you but we need to talk" Edward put his work aside and turned round to face Berlioz. "What about, it must be of some importance if the Ninebreaker himself wants to talk to someone in person" Berlioz grinned slightly, but then put a straight face on "The matter is Elijah." Edward sat up in his chair bolt upright. "What, has something happened to him?" "No, not exactly, physically he is fine, but I'm worried about his mental state." Edward frowned, "Why what's worrying you?" "The procedure test that I set him wasn't one that most pilots take, it was a custom test that I designed to test a Raven outside of his AC, and Elijah performed as most did, until the friendly squad of units was eliminated. Most Ravens tried to avoid enemy contact and engage in guerilla warfare, they are eventually caught and the simulation ends with their death. However, Elijah moved to another cover point and recovered a rifle with an anti armour attachment and destroyed the attacking Moonlight. After his allies were defeated, he charged back to his downed AC, powered up, and engaged the approaching MT battalion. It was only after he had expended all available ammunition and taking out half the opposing force did he finally fall by his own hand."

Edward looked puzzled, "By his own hand?" "He overloaded his OB and then detonated it with a shot from the rifle." Edward was shocked, "He technically killed himself?" "Yes." "Did he show any signs of hesitation?" "No" "Did he know he was in the simulator" "No, he must have got caught up in the events, if it had been a real combat situation, he would have still done the same thing" Edward stood up and started for the door, "I should speak to him." Berlioz stopped him, "I told him I wouldn't say anything, he mustn't know that I told you." Edward knew that Berlioz was right. "I'll keep an eye on him" said Edward, but before he left he paused saying "I want to run some standardised training simulations on him, I want to see if he acts like you said." And with that he left, the door closing behind him.

Elijah was in the cafeteria eating breakfast when Edward walked over to him. "Come on, I want to show you something." Elijah gave him a funny look, crammed the last of his egg into his mouth and stood up to leave, "Where are we going?" "To the hanger." Elijah followed Edward, thinking of the various reasons why they would be going to the hanger.

They walked right to the far end of the line of the Raven's Armored Cores; at the end was a gantry that had its lights dimmed, so it was hard to see the AC that was stationed there. Edward walked over to a small control panel, "This… is White Glint." The lights flicked on and Elijah's jaw dropped.

This was an AC that couldn't be described, it was obviously custom made, but had no idea what corporation had designed it. Its armaments consisted of a BFF 051ANNR 120mm assault rifle and another rifle he didn't recognise, like nothing he had seen before. "What is that!" said Elijah in amazement. "Awhile ago, I helped a friend out of a spot of trouble that he had managed to get himself into, it turned out that had also been building his own Armored Core in a small building underneath the ruins of New York, he said that as I had helped him, he would give me the AC, he died only three days after that." Elijah continued to stare, and his eyes came to rest on the strange rifle. "What model rifle is that?" Edward grinned, "That is a prototype rifle developed by BFF, model 063ANAR 120mm assault rifle, chambered with High Velocity Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot Armour Piercing or HVFSDSAP rounds designed to incapacitate an AC, rather than destroy it by damaging the internal components. Elijah had a sudden brainwave. "Have you heard of Primal Armour?" Edward's mouth twitched, "Yes, experimental technology into the area of forcefields and energy shields, but I heard that the trials were unsuccessful, how do you know about it?" Elijah grinned, "Berlioz has a Primal Armour unit installed in Supplice, and it definitely works." Edward's eyes widened, "It worked?" "Yep, stopped 50mm rounds dead in their tracks but it was completely by-passed by a laser blade, it just carried on like nothing was there."

Edward nodded, "That's interesting, come on people inside Rayleonard have been saying they know where the attack on Exavil came from and they're deploying Berlioz to see if he can find anything." They both turned back to the main hub of the 'Ark, leaving the white AC in shadows.

They walked into mission control, the building that housed all the operators that assisted the top Ravens during missions. Berlioz's operator was called Fiona Hale. She was sitting at a desk surrounded by monitors and data readouts, it looked almost as complex as the cockpit of an AC. The largest monitor was a first person view from Supplice, other monitors had data read outs, damage assessment, pilot stats and aerial views of the operation area provided by Leonmeccanica unmanned drones. At the moment the main monitor showed the door of a transport opening. Fiona spoke into the headpiece that allowed her to communicate with Berlioz, "Ok Berlioz, this should be a milk run, just go in and out and come home ok?" They heard Berlioz chuckle, "Sure thing, It's most likely that there isn't anything out here apart from dirt and sand." The image main monitor suddenly started to move as Supplice walked to the edge of the plane. Then in an instant the image became a blur of blue and brown as Supplice tumbled out the back. The image became coherent after a few seconds before showing a wide expanse of sand and grit. "I'm going to head north for a bit then east" The speck that represented Supplice began to move north on the satellite map.

It was then that Berlioz said, "Whoa, something's moving out here, I can feel the vibrations through my AC" Suddenly everyone around the monitor gasped. "What, what is it?" said Berlioz, now worried. On the satellite map, about 4Km to the west of Berlioz's position, a massive section of the map began to move.

Fiona's voice was shaky as she said "Ok Berlioz, you have movement of unknown size and identity on the western flank." Berlioz turned to the west, but couldn't see anything. "There's nothing there." "Get an aerial view" said Fiona. Supplice fired up its boosters and rose into the sky, at 300 metres Berlioz was stunned to see 1Km squared sections of the desert sliding into the earth forming huge ramps leading underground. In total, there were five giant ramps. No-one said anything, they just stared.

Only three minutes after the ramps opened passed before the motion sensor that was displayed as a number underneath the map jumped from one, Berlioz, to 850. Fiona simply screamed down the mic, "Berlioz! Run!" As hordes of MT's poured forth from the ground like a tidal wave of machines.

Berlioz dropped to the ground, and began methodically picking off MT's from a distance with his rifles, ignoring Fiona's pleas for him to run. Ravens didn't run from a fight, they either won it, or took as many down as possible before falling. He switched to his 200mm grenade launcher and began blowing huge swaths through the horde. Before he had fired five shells, they were closer than 500 metres and he switched back to his rifles, no longer choosing targets, just firing blindly into the sea of MT's in front of him. Fiona typed in a number into the pad in front of her and waited a moment as the line connected before franticly saying "I need a transporter to grid 33, 46 immediately." She then switched back to Berlioz again, "Berlioz, pull out now!"

Berlioz was wondering why the 120x300mm shells from the rifles weren't having that much of an effect, then realised that it was sheer numbers rather than the units themselves that were causing them to continue to push forwards. The surge had started to go round him so he began firing out to the sides as well as forwards, alternating fluidly between targets. He fired his boosters and slid backwards to try and escape the horde of metal that was baring down on him. The roar of the rifles drowned out all noise. The constant slam of recoil as the massive guns blazed away was jarring . A fine mist of red liquid and black smoke began to build up in front as the shells smashed through the incoming MTs. He knew everyone taken down was a life stolen, everyone was someone's father, brother, son, daughter, sister, and here he was blowing them away one by one.

He fired up his Primal Armour unit, the air jumping away from Supplice. The magazines ran dry and they clattered to the ground as two new ones were slid in with the dispensers on the sides of his legs. "Fuck sake!" The curse flowing without thought as the MTs began to open fire on him. The hail of rounds forcing him to keep moving faster than he'd like. Berlioz was starting to pant as he was losing his grip on the controls. He couldn't keep this up; they were slowly gaining on him, the reverse thrust wasn't enough to get away and keep firing. Supplice's plating was beginning to cave, shells slammed into him again and again shaking him in his seat. The restraints gave way and his head slammed into the display in front of him. Blood splattered across it and his face, red rivers running down his face. He spat, trying to clear his mouth so he could breath. He dropped the second pair of magazines, the worn and beaten dispensers jerkily inserted another pair of mags. Berlioz screamed "Just Die!" and returned fire, releasing the weapon locking system, both rifles now completely manually controlled. The screen, now fractured from his collision with it, was nothing more than alternating shades of red, illuminated by muzzle flash.

Fiona was terrified. She'd seen Berlioz lose it before in combat but he looked like an animal now. His face almost unrecognisable in the red hue of all the warning lights from the now fuzzy HUD and the blood sprayed across the cockpit. Elijah and Edward shared nervous looks, they couldn't see clearly what Fiona saw but the noise they could hear gave an indication that Berlioz was in his own personal corner of hell. Edward touched Fiona on the shoulder and she turned slowly to look at him, tears in the corners of her eyes. "He'll come back, he will be back" He said calmly. He knew it was a lie.

Something had snapped inside Berlioz.

More shells came flying at him, the Primal Armour began to fail more often, rounds slipping through and slamming into Supplice. His AC's armour wasn't cut out for prolonged combat and it was starting to show. The HUD was a mess of yellow orange and red as armour breaches began to spring like leaks. He could barely see through the red haze of the drying blood on his face and in his hair.

He started dumping power into the Primal Armour unit, the field around him becoming visible even thought it wasn't being disturbed. The dirty, yellow cloud came into the visible spectrum as the particle density shot upwards, the ground around him began to steam with radiation. The higher he pushed it the worse it got; electrical arcs began sparking, sending tiny bolts of dust coloured light around him. He waited for it to reach the limit of it's capacity before bringing his AC to a sudden stop. By the time the front MTs knew the mistake they had made, they were too close. He opened a com channel to each individual MT. "You think you all can take me? You think you can bring me down? I'll show you, I'll show you what power is!" Shouted Berlioz as he sent a huge electrical charge through the shield destabilising it. The entire thing rippled outwards, tearing the ground around him into fissures and expanding towards the MTs at the same rate as an explosion.

They were shattered, pieces of armour plating went scattering around as the front row was launched backwards by the sheer force. The rows behind were crushed by the force emanating from Supplice. He stood there exhausted, panting as sweat and blood dripped from his face. The smoking and cracked ground around him caused a strange haze in the optical unit, the radiation from the blast was probably affecting it. His PA unit was completely burnt out, Supplice itself was steaming from the heat. He looked up and saw the MTs marching towards him, treading over their fallen comrades. He raised his rifles, but this time they wavered. He didn't know if he could make it out of this one alive. The thought made him smile a little.

'This is it', thought Berlioz 'this is how I die, surrounded by my enemies'. As he thought this he heard the com-channel crackle to life, "Berlioz, this is the Armored Core Prometheus, heard you could use a hand." As he heard this, the nearest MT to him suddenly had a hole in its chest and dropped to the ground. On a cliff only 300 metres away, Mary-Shelly opened up with both 120mm rifle and 140mm sniper rifle, taking out scores of opponents. Suddenly shots rained down from above and more MTs fell down in front of him, smoking holes in their bodies.

"This is the AC Noblesse Oblige, I thought you might appreciate some... intervention." Noblesse's 'wings' flared out-wards, creating the silhouette of an angel in the sky. he flipped the six cannons over his shoulders and fired. The blast forced Berlioz to brace Supplice against the energy released. Pieces of MT rained around them as both Noblesse and Prometheus fired away. Berlioz didn't even realise he was screaming in rage when he began to fire away with his rifles again, he despised himself for it but he decided to lose himself in the dance of absolute destruction. Weaving in and out of his enemies he spun and swerved. All the while his guns kept firing as a stream of shell casings were left in his wake. Flashes... Light... Screams... Noise... Chaos... Silence...

Suddenly it was over. Berlioz came to a halt in the middle of the field, surround by fire and metal. He looked around him, thick black smoke filling the skies above. Bodies mangled in the wreckages, twisted forms of the pilots. He had slaughtered them, taken a fragile life in his hands and with his gun he had destroyed it. Destroy. A word he'd never thought too much about before, but now memories came to the surface unbidden, the visions of death he'd seen before. Death caused by his hand directly or indirectly, it was still loss. Still another bleeding wound in his already shattered humanity. Watching all those families die because he was a coward. Thousands burning because he was too scared to act, too scared to even move. Even now, all these years later the same pain rushed through him at the sight of his work, his art. Destruction. That was all he was good at, destroying things. Breaking things. Ruining things. He was a ruiner. Nothing more than a weapon designed, perfected, sculpted and crafted to destroy. What scared him the most was that it had taken him his entire life to realise this fact. He stood there a little while, among the dead and the shell casings, wondering how he could possibly redeem himself for this act. He couldn't think of anything.

He'd left the few fragments of his humanity behind.


	14. 13: A Familiar Taste

AN: The next few chapters are pretty short so to save you all waiting a week these sub-1000 word chapters will be uploaded bi-weekly. So the next update will be Thursday 30th. Enjoy!

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

6th Day in Detroit

Someone was running. Quite a lot of people were running, he could hear their feet pounding against the ground and splashing in puddles. The rain, thankfully, stopped and the sun was beginning to burn through the cloud layer that had formed over the last day or two. He opened his eyes and found himself looking at boots running past him, at ground level it seemed like he was seeing giants, storming past him. He looked up and could see the deep; blood red and black of their body armour. Rayleonard soldiers, getting up would have been a very bad idea. Someone near him began shouting and the soldiers turned around and dropped onto one knee. Then they opened up with a literally earth shaking roar. Somebody screamed and fell onto him, crushing him, knocking the breath out of him. He spat grit and dirt out of his mouth, the feeling of it under his tongue made him want to throw up. More soldiers were cut down and Nick saw his opportunity to strike while they began to descend into disorder. Slowly he reached down to his hip and pulled his sidearm from its holster and, still under the body of the dead soldier, took aim at the man who kept giving orders and squeezed the trigger. The round spun wide and the slide locked back. "Oh crap" Muttered Nick as he dropped the magazine and fumbled for another. The Sergeant, as he now identified him as, looked straight at him, rifle raised. However, as he diverted his attention from the unseen force, a single round passed through his head. He slumped to the side and collapsed to the ground, blood oozing from the now visible hole in the side of his head.

Nick rolled the dead body off him and slowly got to his feet. A dull throbbing pain pulsed through his shoulder, the round still lodged there. He looked down the road and could see men walking towards him. He sighed with relief when they turned out to be members of the 33rd Infantry, with several tanks and APCs from the 6th Armoured Brigade behind them. Nick walked up to the Lieutenant at the front, "What going on, what's with the tanks?" "We're taking back the city, those Rayleonard dogs have held too much for too long, if we can hold the Killzone for at least a day, maybe more, we can set up a defensive point that we can hold. That will give us a staging point in which to amass an assault force to take downtown and maybe even the northern sectors." Nick blinked.

Take back the city? Leonemeccanica and Rayleonard had been fighting over this city for nearly four years. The Detroit Conflict has so far been the most violent, bloody and costly battle since the Year of Destruction, and it wasn't going to end anytime soon. Nick pushed the thought to the back of his mind and got in line behind one of the tanks. Looking to his right, he saw David and waved at him. He looked over and waved back before running over. "Hey, I thought you'd be dead by now" "Not yet, maybe later" The column advanced into a huge open square, they had arrived at the heart of the Killzone, this is the point that nearly 3000 people had been killed over on their side alone. But it was completely devoid of any human life.

The Lieutenant shouted, "Ok, everyone to the flanks, the armour is taking point, I don't want our tanks getting it in the sides!" The men ran round to the sides and the armour moved forwards. They had barely gotten 10 feet when a missile came screaming out of nowhere. It slammed into the lead APC, sending white hot metal fragments into the men surrounding it and killing everyone inside. As this happened another missile screeched at them, this one hit the last vehicle in the convoy. They had wandered into an ambush, and they had no idea where it came from.


	15. 14: Primer

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

Elijah was eating breakfast in his room, thinking about the day before when Berlioz and Supplice had been brought back from the desert. Supplice had been pushed to it's operational limits, had it sustained any more damage or strenuous usage it would have failed, it was barely able to support itself so they kept it locked in a mobile gantry while it was moved from the transporter to it's hanger. Berlioz was in a worse state, they had to cut the hatch open as the PA explosion had fused it shut. The moment he clambered out of the cockpit he collapsed to the ground shaking, Elijah had never seen anything like it. Berlioz fell to pieces, collapsed in tears right there in the hanger in front of all those who had come to congratulate him. It was sad seeing him like that, a pair of RARF members had to escort him to the medical bay so his wounds could be treated to, apparently the medical staff were shocked he was alive let alone conscious. With 4 broken ribs a shattered femur and 3 fractures along his right arm, moderate to severe concussion and a collapsed lung.

Berlioz was physically strong, stronger than most but mentally there were some underlying flaws that everyone seemed to have missed, cracks in his psyche that had now come forward. Elijah was worried, more than he thought he would be.

Edward suddenly walked in. He looked puzzled, "Elijah, I've been looking for you, why are you eating in here?" Elijah shrugged, "I prefer my cooking, did you want some?" Edward grinned, "Sure, but you need to put your formal uniform on, apparently the culprit of the Exavil attacks is going to come forward and confess" Elijah walked over to the cooker and poured the rest of the scrambled egg into a plate for Edward. "That's good, that means no more suicide missions for Berlioz" Edward didn't say anything, but continued to eat. As soon as Elijah was in his formal uniform Edward stood up and started to the door, pausing to wait for Elijah. As he passed, he stopped him and said "You're right, your cooking is better" and continued to the Grand Hall.

The Grand Hall was a massive, ornately designed room that could hold the entire population of the Raven's Ark, consisting of the twelve members of the Governing Body of Ravens, the 52 currently active Ravens and the remaining personal need to support and maintain the Ravens, their AC's and the 'Ark it's self. Elijah sat in one of the many rows that lined the room, as he looked around he spotted some of the Ravens that had been pointed out to him by Edward. Mary-Shelly, Allid, Priest, Empress and Leonhardt were all present. He was startled when the Governing Body of Ravens marched into the room. Among them was Governor Desmond, who in all respects was the leader of the Ravens. Next was President Vale, who acted as a representative for the corporations, except Rayleonard. After Vale were several high ranking members of most of the corporations and the Raven's Ark. Finally, Berlioz walked in, acting as the representative of Rayleonard and the highest ranking Raven. He looked... Pathetic. He had a bandage across half of his face, the white marred by a faint pink. One of his arms was in a sling and the other clung onto a crutch. He was obviously in pain, you could see it in his face, how he walked. Tired. Appearing rough, his fight with the MT horde had taken it's toll on him and he looked like he hadn't been keeping himself as well as normal, maybe he hadn't been sleeping. Elijah wondered if something was wrong, but didn't get long to do as they all sat down.

The Governing Body of Ravens took their seats and Governor Desmond stood and spoke, "I have called this meeting, in light of the information that the person, or persons responsible for the attack on the headquarters of the corporation Rayleonard would come forward." There was a sight pause and to everyone's surprise, the member of GA that was seated at the Governing Body's table stood.

He said, "It has come to Global Armaments attention that Rayleonard has designed, tested and employed a prototypical form of energised forcefield that has been designated as Primal Armour" Berlioz looked stunned and everyone in the room, including Governor Desmond and President Vale were looking at either Berlioz or the GA representative. He continued,"While this new system is incredibly effective, they failed to inform anyone of the incredible amount of radiation that this system generates, any unprotected person within 10 metres of the unit while operational, is delivered a fatal dose of a unique form of radioactive energy known as a Kojima Particle. This was the final straw, after tens of unchecked tests and unnecessary deaths, the fact that GA, despite holding most of the world's MT market, is still considered a minor corporation, we have now made a decision to act, we will no longer be pushed around and treated as a lesser, GA will take full responsibility for the attack on Exavil, and many more will come. This is our final speech in the company of the Governing Body. Global Armaments has declared war on Rayleonard!"

"_Did you make the announcement?" "Yes, the Governing Body is under the impression that Global Armaments is withdrawing to draw up a war plan." "Good, are the MT battalions ready?" "Yes, the final ZEUS Class Bombers have come off the line and are ready for launch." "Engage Operation: Burning Path, we will set ourselves in our rightful place in a world we forged in this fire!"_


	16. 15: Ignite

Elijah Dresden Thompson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

The GA members rapidly left, leaving everyone in a state of shock. Filtering out through the entrance at the back of the hall, everyone continued to stare at them until the last one had left. Elijah was stunned, completely stunned. GA? Sure they were one of the larger minor corporations but this was insane! Rayleonard were the largest and most powerful force on Earth not considering the Ravens, it was pure suicide for them to go to war. Someone ran into the Great Hall shouting something about "Everyone! Get into the cafeteria! Look at the news! Something's happening!"

Everyone that had been in the Great Hall was crowded around the television in the cafeteria. The volume was turned to maximum so that those who were standing in the doorway could hear the woman who was speaking on the news. "All over the world, massive ramps appear to be opening, the cause and nature of this is unknown at the moment, but it is estimated that many of these doors have opened. We are going to a live feed from a remote controlled drone over one of these strange occurrences." As the feed changed to the drone's camera. Everyone who had been at Berlioz's station knew what was to come, nothing was said, they knew this was it, the retaliation that GA had promised, they had been planning this since before the attack on Exavil, they had simply needed a reason to put their plan into action. If what Berlioz had found was anything to go by, thousands of MTs would pour forth. They continued to stare in disbelief at the screen only to see the beginning of the end. MTs came marching out like an army from hell, accompanied by an equal amount of unknown flying units.

The airborne horde descended on the few surface cities that had been built on the North American continent over the recent years after the great destruction. The people watching were powerless to stop it happening, they were forced to watch as the cities burned as hundreds of tons of high explosive and napalm bombs were dropped on the unsuspecting citizens of the world. In less than thirty minutes, over 5 million people were killed, all 5 cities had been reduced to ruins, the few skyscrapers that had been built, were now flaming towers, lighting up the evening sky like beacons. The few squads of Rayleonard and Leonemeccanica MT's that were posted in the cities didn't know what hit them. They burned with the rest.

Everyone jumped when the speaker phones that were positioned around the 'Ark started to squawk at them, "This is Governor Desmond, sensors have detected multiple incoming signatures, with an intercept path for Raven's Ark, all non-Raven personnel are to proceed to defensive positions, all MT pilots are to proceed to the hanger and mobilise on the outer platform to engage the enemy. All Ravens are now at full readiness level to be deployed within five minutes or less. I would rather not be, but it would seem the circumstances have pushed me to it. I am the first Governor to declare that the Ravens are for the first time, now at war."

The 'Ark became a hive of activity, pilots ran to the hanger, gunners ran to their turrets and "Bullet Boys" ran after them with trolleys of ammunition. Everyone, except the Ravens had something to do. They milled around, waiting for a deployment order.

The massive doors that lead out onto the platform on top of the main body of the 'Ark opened and the Raven's Ark Reactionary Force marched out to meet the enemy head on. The RARF consisted of 250 custom designed MT's and 500 infantry. Backed up by 65 quad linked 50mm autocannons that were tucked away in hardened points around the lower and upper levels of Raven's Ark, these combined were considered enough to hold off any one that would have the lack of brain cells to attack the most powerful military force on the planet.

The entire RARF was mobilised outside when the 50mm autocannons deployed and began to track to the east where the radar got the signal. They were mystified when only one bomber rose out of the cloud line and began to head for the 'Ark. The gunner in the closest turret grinned and tracked the target for 50 metres then began to blaze away with 50x140mm High Explosive Flak rounds. What was a hostile became scrap metal within seconds. Immediately after that, hundreds of bombers rose up and advanced on the 'Ark. Every gun that was able to fire in that direction opened up with an earthshaking roar. The sky turned black with the explosions of flak. The MT battalion began adding their 50mm's to the barrage, while launching the occasional rocket into the fray.

They came screaming out of the flak cloud, some on fire, and some in pieces. Most intact, these spiralled at them firing 20mm autocannons and missiles that whistled and screeched as they flew onwards. The 'Ark shook as chunks were blown out of the platform and autocannons stitched hot lines across the floor as they swept over them. Nobody was ready for this.


	17. 16: Complications

A/N: This chapter was so goddamned short that making you all wait even 3 or 4 days for it was just stupid. So have a double update! On the house! :D Chapters after this one will return to the usual 1500ish word count and weekly updates!

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

6th Day in Detroit

Nick dived behind a large granite fountain, bits and pieces were being chipped away by rounds flung at him. There was a dull, _thwump_ and something slammed into the fountain. Rock was thrown everywhere, but Nick and some other soldiers remained unharmed. One of the soldiers, a Private leaned over to him and shouted, "What the hell happened?" "I dunno, we were fine then they jumped us!" Another grenade exploded behind them and Nick's teeth were clacking together. "This is insane" muttered Nick and he poked his rifle over his cover and launched a 20mm rocket, without looking where it would land.

It spiralled into a large plant pot, fragments of pottery flew everywhere. His shoulder began to bother him again and he slid another rocket into the under barrel launcher and closed the breech. The rounds still came at them; their cover becoming dangerously thin. Nick leaned over and said, "We need to move!" They got up and ran to the burned out husk of a tank and crouched behind it. However, just as they got round the corner, the last man cried out, as the turned, they saw him writhe in pain as he ran, red clouds puffing from behind him, the sound of something fast hitting him. He fell to the ground; his back was a mess of flesh, armour, cloth and bone. "Jesus…" muttered the Private as he looked back towards Nick.


	18. 17: No Place to Hide

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

Elijah was sitting at his desk wondering when he would be deployed when a missile went screaming into the room next to him, blowing it open, knocking the wall between them down and blasting Elijah to the floor. He coughed and dragged himself to his feet, pain lancing down his side, staggered into the hallway, only to dive back into his room as a bomber did a strafing run over them sending pieces of metal and glass raining around him, several people didn't get up again.

He made a run for it sprinting for the door way that lead way from the main hub and towards the hanger. As he ran through the door he was knocked flying as a missile flew into the space he had been occupying only a few seconds earlier. He hit the floor and slid for a few metres before coming to a stop. He slowly got to his feet and continued towards the hanger. He walked into the cat walk that lead to the hanger only to see a missile take a two metre section out of it. He had no choice, he had to jump it. Elijah took three steps back, then ran and jumped, over oblivion.

He hit the other side and immediately fell over and crashed to the floor. He jumped up, ignoring the pain and ran to the gantry that held Havok. Elijah climbed up and opened the cockpit and climbed in. He powered up, fired a missile straight through the side wall and jumped out into the chaos outside.

As soon as he was outside he was buffeted by the strong air currents that surrounded the 'Ark. He flared his boosters and shot skyward. As he pulled back to land on the deck, he had to shoot sideways to avoid and incoming bomber that was pouring flame from various holes in its fuselage. Havok touched down on the deck and ran straight to the hanger. As he slid in he saw several MT's hiding in the shadows, he opened a com channel to them, "What are doing in here?" "What do you mean; we're not going out there." Elijah shook his head and walked out into the fray. He raised his machine guns into the sky and began tracing his own lines of fire into the sky.

Elijah fell into a pattern, something that happens when you are in prolonged combat. Find target, engage target, destroy target and repeat. He zoned out. Nothing was real. The only thing he could rely on was the sounds. The dull roar of the 88mm machine guns, the clinking of shell casings dropping to the deck. The screech of missiles passing by. The sound of men screaming as they burned. Something slammed into his chest, knocking him backwards. He shrugged it off, it didn't matter. He regained his stance and renewed his efforts to clear the skies. He saw a flyer making a beeline for him, it's autocannons blazing away and he could hear the rounds clipping his armour. He aimed one of his machine guns in the general direction of it and opened fire, the shells quickly ripping it to pieces. However it kept flying straight at him, and Elijah braced Havok as the flyer smashed into him. It knocked him clean down, the flyers weren't heavy but it was moving fast enough to have some force behind it. Shrugging off the pieces of flyer off him, he stood back up. The readouts on the display were slowly turning from blue, to green and now to yellow, Havok was starting to take a beating and he didn't have the armour plating to keep up with it. He fired his boosters and slid into some cover to reload. The 2 huge drum magazines from his machine guns fell to the floor with a crash and he inserted the two spares he kept on his lower back.

Suddenly, every single bomber flipped end over end and began to fly away from the 'Ark. This was the cannon's chance to deal some damage. They opened up with a deafening roar. The sky turned black once again with the multitude of flak that was now tearing the retreating aerial armada.

Elijah lowered his arms. What was that about, a massive attack only to retreat at the last minute? As he stood he coughed, something splattered onto the monitor in front of him. What was that? He put his hand to his mouth and coughed again, harder than before. This time his hand came way covered in a thick, smooth liquid. He held it up to the light, it was deep red. Elijah looked down a saw a neat hole in the bodywork, light streaming in, looking up at the monitor's he'd failed to see the warning telling him that he had a cockpit breach. Staring down at himself he could see the tear in his jumpsuit, and the same liquid flowing out. He pressed his hand to the wound, expecting to feel eructating pain, but as he applied pressure, he felt nothing, it didn't hurt, wasn't it supposed to hurt, was it? It felt like the world around him was spinning, he slumped into the seat and his hand fell away from the wound, blood flowing freely now. He passed out within seconds.

Lights. The sound of people talking around him. Was he moving? He could hear other people besides the people that seem to be perpetually by his side. Moaning, someone was screaming in another room. Was he dreaming? He didn't know whether this was reality or something that he creating himself. Then something hit him like a sledgehammer. Someone shouted, he was hit again, a sharp lightning strike of pain ripping though his chest. He tried to recoil from the sensation. However, he found that he was unable to move, the world around him began to fade. The sounds blended into one single hum. The faint world that he could see became white. The pain faded and all feeling left him.

His eyes opened. He was in a white room, the lights were dimmed and the windows were covered by blinds. He had a sudden wave of déjà vu, and looked to his side. Just like before, when he had first met him, Edward was sitting in the small, uncomfortable chair next to his bed. Without opening his eyes, Edward said, "This isn't going to become a habit is it?" Elijah laughed, and then stopped, as pain lanced though his side. Elijah stared at the ceiling, and then said, "What happened?" Edward continued to speak with his eyes closed and said, "A fragment of a 20mm round pierced the armour plating in the cockpit of your AC, it ripped though your liver and one of your kidneys, you barely survived." He paused, and then continued, "You were in surgery for six hours, and none of us thought you would pull though, but you proved all of us wrong, I'm glad you did." Elijah looked puzzled, "All of us?" "Yes, who wouldn't want to know what happened to the Raven that single-handily repelled the enemy force?" Elijah just stared at him, "Single-handed, I had the whole of the RARF and the defensive guns to help." "Most of the RARF had fallen back or been destroyed when you arrived, and one of the aerial units hit a power line that disabled half of the guns going. You, a handful of MTs and 11 defensive guns held them off and forced them to retreat, you saved us."

It was the scene of hell, bullet holes covered whole walls, and chunks were blown out of floors and the glass windows were in pieces, scattered across the floor. Blood was splattered along floors and walls, and bodies were still being moved. Elijah walked down the corridor that ran outside his room. Or at least what used to be his room. It was completely trashed, the partitioning between his and the next had been blown down and it had crushed almost everything. He didn't bother going in, nothing there was worth saving, no personal items, nothing that he held in value. Elijah turned away and carried on walking past the people and bodies.

He turned to enter the mess hall, only to find it closed due to repairs, he asked someone nearby and it turned out that it had taken a hit from one of the flyers and was out of commission for now. Elijah began walking back towards the living quarters. He carried on past his room and on towards the central elevator. It was thankfully undamaged so Elijah continued on towards the highest level of the 'Ark, the Great Hall. He walked up to the huge ornate doors that blocked the way into the 'Hall. As he approached, the doors opened silently and revealed the massive room that was the meeting place of all the occupants of the 'Ark. He walked along one of the rows of seats and sat. He didn't do anything, he just sat and stared into the sky, the glass dome that made up the ceiling was pepper potted with bullet holes where the flyers had made passes over the 'Ark. He sat for little over five minutes before he heard someone else enter. He didn't move, he continued to stare, not even looking to see who had found him. He was surprised to find that it wasn't Edward as he had originally thought, but Governor Desmond. He did exactly the same as Elijah, just sat and didn't say anything. Another ten minutes passed before Desmond spoke, "I like to come up here sometimes, just to think, especially after something had happened, I like to try and work out what happened" Elijah didn't look at him, but said with a harsh edge to his voice, "What happened today was an act of terrorism, a global act that has cost humanity in more ways than one, not only did we lose too many good men, but human kind will never forget today, the day that GA slaughtered millions of innocent people."

Desmond continued to look into the sky, then said, "What happened today was inexcusable, no, unbelievable, but that doesn't change anything." Desmond paused, and then continued, "We received word that, during the attack on Raven's Ark, the Exavil building in North America was destroyed by a weapon that was thought to be simple myth, or just something that was implausible to build. Two things have come of this, one, Rayleonard is finished. They can't recover from a blow like this; Victor was killed in the building's collapse. Second, the BFF superweapon 'Spirit of Motherwill' exists, and is now moving towards the former city of Detroit. GA dragged us into this war, so we must deal a blow before we they can regroup and attack again." Desmond looked at Elijah and said, "I'm going to ask you something, I want you to think about it before you choose, I am asking, not ordering, for you to engage and destroy the Spirit of Motherwill, before it can do any more damage." Elijah didn't even blink before saying, "Yes"


	19. 18: We Still Kill the Old Way

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

6th Day in Detroit

The MT crashed to the ground, and as it did another missile went screaming over head, blowing a chunk out of a nearby building, throwing rubble all over him. The dust filled the air and he couldn't see anything. As soon as it was clear he could see the fallen MT, and he ran towards it. It had fallen onto its front, so the hatch at the back was exposed. He pulled it open; the lock was completely destroyed, and peered inside. The pilot was slumped against the control panel, a neat hole directly in the centre of his back. Nick pulled him out and rolled him off the side, no time for fancy burials, and lowered himself in. As the MT had fallen in such an awkward position, it was hard to get into the seat comfortably. As soon as he was in, the hatch above his head closed and the displays came to life, the screen directly in front of him was blank, but then rows of text began flashing up,

:_OS Engaging, all systems nominal_

_:Checking physical integrity..._

_:Checking..._

_:Checking... _

_:WARNING COCKPIT BREACH DETECTED :RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE REPAIR_

_:System checks complete_

_:Engaging_

The MT rumbled to life and up righted itself. Nick had only scraped through basic MT training, and wasn't too familiar with the controls in front of him. He moved the keypad, and typed,

_:__Engage Combat Mode_.

A voice blared back him, scaring him senseless, "_Combat Mode Engaged"_

The MT's weapon systems came online and Nick turned to face the enemy. He ran though the armaments that he had at his disposal. A schematic of his model came up long with the readouts and he saw that he had a standard issue laser blade on his left arm and an outdated infra-red sight for night fighting mounted onto the head unit. However to his surprise was instead of the regular dual-barrelled 50mm machine gun, was a 30mm rotary cannon. He raised the cannon and spooled up the barrels before a roaring torrent of rounds came out the other end. The two MTs that were advancing on him were shredded by the shear weight of rounds that were hitting them. Nick grinned, this was fun. He spun round and began to push forward across the square, having just seen the last of their armoured support become nothing more than scrap in front of their eyes, the few remaining Rayleonard soldiers turned and ran. They had done it, the square was there's.

He had only just left the square when something exploded in front of him, knocking the MT and causing the monitors to shoot into static. Nick kept the MT upright and regained his balance. Looking into the dust kicked up by the impact, he could make out the outline of, something. He enhanced the image quality coming from the optical unit and squinted at the screen. The smoke cleared and he was left staring at an unfamiliar, black coloured MT. It was taller than his, and was equipped with a bizarre looking weapon system. It took a step forward and Nick raised the gatling gun, the barrels spinning. The black MT/AC thing lifted one arm and the screens were suddenly filled with a blinding white light, then everything inside the MT went dead and all power was cut off.

He pulled a small flash light from his webbing and turned it on, moving the light across the ceiling of the cockpit, he saw the small lever that he was looking for. Nick reached up, grabbing the lever and pulled down, there was a sharp crack and a whirling sound emanated from behind him and the screens flickered back into life. He skipped running a diagnostic on the system and immediately powered up the MT. The screen that had the feed from the optical unit came up first. The black MT/AC was gone, all it had left was a now smoking crater, and he scanned the skies for any trace but found none, except for the exhaust trails from jet engines.

Nick moved the MT forward slowly, the MT was responding alarmingly sluggish to commands and Nick was wary of his environment. He continued towards where he believed enemy forces were falling back to. At every corner he stopped to make sure he wouldn't get ambushed again. After a few minutes, he regrouped with the convoy and took position at the front, as he had one of the few working MTs. They advanced up to a huge crossroad, before stopping. The Lieutenant at the front shouted, "Ok people, we're setting up shop, take up defensive positions, engineers, set up barricades and sandbags. Get moving people!" Everyone moved to their respective orders. Nick moved to the north, if they were going to attack, it would be from there. Engineers began to make sandbag fortifications and weld metal plates together to make bullet proof cover. Then Nick heard the sound of jet engines, he looked skyward. Several men were pointing at something he couldn't see, then, there they were.

Two ACs were spinning and flipping around each other, weapons fire being traded between them. One of them he recognised The AC White Sparrow, and the other he couldn't make out, a black AC with legs that bent backwards, like a bird. It was like watching a cage fight, White Sparrow shot backwards and unleashed a missile salvo, they spiralled around, most slammed into buildings, and some just flew into the air and exploded harmlessly. But three caught the other AC in the chest, it reeled backwards but shot forward and hit White Sparrow with something that looked like the thing the black MT had. The area around White Sparrow was filled with bright green light, and electricity crackled around it. Then, White Sparrow peeled away, but not in the normal sense. It smashed through the 30th story of a nearby office block and then emerged in a similar fashion before drifting towards them. Only one of its boosters was active, before it cut out and the AC slammed into the ground, digging a huge trough behind it in the tarmac. Then the AC landed in front of Nick, he paused, only for a second, then fired up his laser blade and took a wild sweep at it. The AC shot back and raised another strange weapon. It fired, or it did something, there was a faint, _ping_, then all power left the MT and Nick could see daylight in the cockpit. He looked up and saw a hole, as big as his fist only a foot way from his side. The round, or whatever it was had passed straight through the armour plating and the generator and the back plating in a single shot, the cockpit was suddenly filling with smoke and his vision began to blur.

He couldn't see anything, but he could hear gun fire, people shouting, people screaming. Then the sound of missiles crashing into the ground around him, then nothing, no shouting, no guns, no nothing. Silence, pure silence. Suddenly the sound of boosters flaring to life echoed in front of him before fading into the distance.


	20. 19: A Modern Myth

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

"You did what!" "I said I volunteered to attack the Spirit of Motherwill, what did you think I said?" Elijah had no idea why Edward was reacting like this. "Do you even know what you've got yourself into?" "What do you mean?" Edward looked at him exasperatedly and dragged him over to Elijah's computer by his arm. His fingers flew across the keyboard and a series of schematics, blueprints and blurry photographs came up. "This is everything I have managed to accumulate on the Spirit of Motherwill, this thing is hard to find info on, its existence is often denied by BFF but we all know that it's real now. Just look at it, do you really want to be going head on with that thing?" Elijah peered at the screen. Thinking about it now, it looked formidable. More missile racks than you could shake a stick at, point defences covering every angle and two enormous triple-barrelled cannons that made anything else look like a pea shooter. Not to mention the fact that this, amongst other things, was designed to be an aircraft carrier on legs. It would be packed to the brim with GA flyers, something Elijah had no intention of getting into a fight with any time soon.

"You can see where I'm coming from now, can't you?" Elijah nodded, "Yeah, your seriously saying that I'm taking that thing on?" "You volunteered!" Elijah felt his blood turn into ice. Great. Elijah walked back and forth, pacing. This wasn't good, he had just _volunteered_ to take out the most powerful land based weapon in existence, and he had no idea how. "So, how do I kill it, there has to be some kind of weak point, everything has one?" "As far as I know, this thing is invincible, as no attack has ever been made on it, so we have no combat data. This is the thing that took out Exavil, and it wasn't even seen then, so this thing is going to have some serious range." Edward took a breath and then said, "BFF and Leonemeccanica have been working on an experimental form of insertion into a combat zone, transporters are too slow and using overboost won't get you there in time, so they came up with the idea of creating a disposable booster that could be used to get someone from a launch point, to the combat zone in minutes, increasing the effectiveness of any combat unit because they can react faster" Edward took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Elijah just stared at him, "You're getting way too worked up about this" "Yeah I know, but something like this could revolutionise the way that we fight, this could reduce casualties in the first few minutes by huge degrees" Elijah thought on this, "I think I've seen one" "You what?" exclaimed Edward, "I've only just heard about it how could you have seen it?" "When Berlioz and I went to take out the BFF base, Purity was sent in using some kind of rocket booster." Edward just stared at him. "What?" "Don't worry, just wondering why I don't get sent out into the field more often"

Edward began working on something and Elijah decided that it was time to eat. He left him to his work and started walking towards the cafeteria. He had no idea what he wanted but as he was about to walk in, Tom burst through the door and grabbed him by the shoulders, looking crazed, "Elijah, you gotta hide me!" Elijah, stunned by his sudden appearance only mumbled "Errrr… Wha... Wha..." Tom slapped him and shouted "Pull yourself together; you've got to help me!" "OK this way, you know that really hurt" Tom just ran after him saying "Yeah well being an idiot wasn't going to help me and… oh crap they found me" He turned around only to see six men charging towards them. "Why did you drag me into this, I just wanted something to eat!" "I know, but Edward was doing something and no one else wanted to help so I took my chances with you" "Yeah, and look where that got you." "Hey you!" Someone shouted, "Come here, we need to have a little chat" Tom froze, and turned around, resignation on his face. "Yeah you, do wanna explain what you've been doing with my girl?" "Look man, she came on to me, I'm the victim here" "Is that so?" He advanced on them, the other five circling around them. The man who had been speaking drew a small switchblade and continued marching on Tom when a voice further back said "Is there an issue here gentlemen?" Everyone turned to see who had interrupted them. Leonhardt stood only 3 metres away from the group, apparently over hearing them. The man with the knife quickly flicked it away and turned on Leonhardt, "Look, I'd leave now before someone gets hurt" As he turned back he muttered "Rosenthal scum" Leonhardt was next to him in a flash, his sidearm at the man's temple, "I would reconsider that statement, I've been known to, slip the trigger" The man backed away from Tom, the gun still to his head saying "Hey, it's all good, I didn't mean any of it, really" "I thought so" Then without blinking, he pistol whipped him and he crashed to the deck unconscious.

"Does anyone else have anything to say?" said Leonhardt, not a trace of emotion in his voice. The remaining five men just shook their heads, grabbed their leader and dragged him back to the living quarters. Tom let out the breath that he didn't know he had been holding in and turned to face Leonhardt, "Thanks for that, couldn't think of a better time for you to show up." "Yes, I saw that you were in, an unfavourable position and I thought I could help, it looks like I was correct" Elijah snapped out of the daze that he had fallen into and said "Whoa, before you go, were you with Edward when you found me in D.C.?" "Yes, I was, I provided cover from the air while Edward extracted you. Thankfully, we left without incident" Elijah nodded, now understanding the 'angel' that he had seen, it had been Leonhardt, Noblesse Oblige.

Leonhardt walked away and Elijah glared at Tom. "What?" Elijah just shook his head and walked back to the cafeteria, not wanting to get any more involved in Tom's personal life. The café was far emptier than he had originally thought. Almost no one was in, except a few faces he didn't recognise, and someone he did. He sat on the other side of the table with his food but didn't say anything. "Didn't think I'd ever see you in person" Elijah looked up. Mary-Shelly was staring straight at him, not blinking, her eyes not moving. Everyone that knew her, not that there were many, knew that this was a habit she had gotten into. She had been the best shot in the world, and she had trained herself to perfect the art of using a rifle. That was until Empress came and usurped her from BFF's throne, from that day she crashed into a deadly spiral of drink and narcotics. Ending up on death's door, she slowly clawed herself back into shape and was currently attempting to regain her status as the foremost sniper on the Ark.

She snapped her fingers and Elijah jumped in his seat, shocked out of his reverie. "Why was that?" "Thought you'd be dead by now" Elijah was taken aback. "Why would you think that?" "For one, you're a rookie; abet one with an unrealistic amount of luck, and second you have very little combat experience so you aren't able to react to different situations with the same degree of flexibility as a vet with ten years of combat under their belt" Elijah just grinned, "Well if I've got luck, that's something" Mary-Shelly just cocked her head to the side, ever so slightly, and said "So when you're bleeding out in side your AC, everyone has left you for dead, fuel is leaking into the cockpit and the displays are sparking, do you think luck will get you out of that?" Elijah just blinked, "I'm assuming that's what happened to you?" "Something like that" "How did you get out?" "I don't know, I didn't want to, I just wanted to die, someone dragged me out, never knew who, but that told me that maybe I wasn't meant to die then, so I thought, what the hell, I might as well get back on my feet, brush off the dirt and kick that bitch off my pedestal and do some work, I haven't got very far since" She took a huge swig from the glass in front of her and set it down, now empty. It didn't smell like water. Elijah began eating, slowly, not wanting to disturb her. She just stared at the empty glass. "Life isn't worth living at the bottom, if you have to grind others into the dirt to raise yourself above them, then so be it" she muttered.


	21. 20: White Sparrows

A/N: Surprise! I told myself that when I got 10 reviews that I would upload the next due chapter early! So enjoy! (Yes it says 15 but 5 were me replying)

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

6th Day in Detroit

The sun was beginning its fall into the horizon when he managed to kick the hatch open. Dull light streamed in and he hauled himself out onto the street. The road was blackened along with the buildings and almost everything else. Bullet holes pocketed the ground around him and charred bodies were strewn everywhere. He looked to his left and saw the downed AC, White Sparrow. He limped over; his left leg was killing him, and drew his sidearm. He pumped one round into the keypad at the side of the hatch. It sparked and the hatch popped open an inch, air hissing out as the seal broke.

He raised the weapon and slowly eased the hatch open. It was pitch black inside and nothing moved. "Hey, is anyone in there?" Instead of an answer, the barrel of a Rayleonard 003 handgun glinted from inside and a voice that accompanied it said "Move and you're a dead man. Who are you?" "Lance Corporal Nicholas Hale, 42nd Leonemeccanica Infantry, you took down an MT that was hell bent on taking me out" She didn't say anything, but the weapon clicked and was withdrawn into the shadows. He heard movement and groaning, then suddenly she fell out onto Nick, knocking him down and pining him to the ground.

He found the gun to his head again and a woman holding him down. "Whoa, calm down!" This didn't help, as she just pushed the gun harder into his forehead. "You give orders to a Raven then Lance Corporal?" "You didn't seem to mind yesterday" She blinked. "Oh crap" The gun was withdrawn and Nick let out a sigh of relief as she put it back in the holster. She rolled off him and held her hand out. Nick took it and heaved himself up, surprised at how strong she was, lifting him to his feet without thinking about it.

"Are you ok?" Asked Nick as he heard her gasp in pain as she pulled him up. "Yeah, I'm fine" She hissed through gritted teeth. Nick looked her over, from the way she was leaning against the side of her AC, he guessed at two, maybe three broken ribs, a fractured thigh and a shattered collarbone. But she didn't say anything, just looked around trying to work out her surroundings. "Where did he go then?" She asked, turning to face him. Nick thought and said, "The other AC? I don't know, he took me out before I could see."

They both stared at the sun as it began it's fall to the horizon.


	22. 21: A Wound and Scar

A/N: Even more surprise! The last chapter was less than 500 words so you get this one AS WELL! Aren't you all lucky?

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

Elijah's lids opened slowly. The computer bleeping at him had awoken him and he didn't know if he could be bothered to get up and see who had sent the message. Elijah heaved himself to his feet and wandered over to the computer. The bright screen hurt his eyes, but as his eyes adjusted to the light he could read what had been sent.

_To: Elijah, Raven_

_From: Edward, Raven_

_Elijah, I just wanted to remind you that the Ark is holding a service for five dead Ravens. John will be among them and I didn't think you wanted to miss it. This is the largest service since the fall of the first Raven's Ark, four Ravens dead in the space of a month, if the war is only going to get worse, you can expect to see more things like this._

_Edward_

Elijah groaned. Why did it have to be today, couldn't they make it at another date? Or better yet, not do it at all? He didn't want to be reminded, yet he hadn't even forgotten, every night since he'd been reminded of what happened. Despite this, he had an obligation to both John, and his fallen comrades. He set his alarm to 8:30am and climbed back into bed, sleep not coming quickly.

Raven's Ark, Upper Deck

Some people say that the weather changes how you feel. Elijah felt nothing but pain, and so the relentless rain pounded down onto them. Priest stood facing the congregation, saying something from a small, and now damp, book in his hands. Prayers for the dead most likely, but he wasn't listening.

Eight caskets, eight dead Ravens. This war would cost them so much more. The dropship sat idly, waiting to take the bodies to the Burial Grounds. Priest closed his book, and waved at the men who stood either side of the caskets. They picked them up, and walked slowly forward, to the dropship that waited for them. Elijah just stood there, and let the rain drip from his hair. People began to leave but he just stood there. Stood there and stared up into the sky, wondering if he'd have to watch any of his new friends fly away.

Raven's Ark, Mess Hall

Elijah struggled to get a space in the line as almost every single person that lived on the Ark crammed into Mess Hall to get something to eat. Someone slammed into his shoulder jarring him. He looked around the crowded room trying to find a familiar face. He spotted Berlioz sitting at a table alone in a corner of the hall. Squeezing his way between two people that were shouting at each other about something, he walked towards him, narrowly avoiding a collision with another Raven walking to the exit. Berlioz didn't look up as Elijah sat down with his tray of food, he just continued to stare past Elijah like he was waiting for someone else. If he looked bad before, he looked even worse now, there was a definite unkempt beard growing on his face, something that he'd never seen, and there were deep bags under his eyes . Elijah waved his hand in front of him, trying to get his attention.

Someone suddenly grabbed his wrist with surprising strength and stopped him from moving. "The number one" said a deep voice next him, "Doesn't like being disturbed" Elijah looked up at the person who had grabbed him, only to see that several people were standing behind him, looking menacing. Everyone in the hall stopped what they were doing and stared at them.

Elijah was about to reach with his other hand to grab the sidearm at his waist when his arm was released suddenly. Berlioz was on his feet his own hand clenched around the man's wrist. "He's with me" he said in a low rough voice. The man's head jerked from Berlioz's face to Elijah's, before he ripped his hand from Berlioz's grasp and walked away, muttering to himself.

Elijah stared at him as he walked away, "What was his problem?" he said to Berlioz, now looking straight at him. Berlioz looked at him now for the first time, his eyes cold, emotionless, dead. "I think that they believed that they were stopping you from bothering me, however if that was the case, I still wouldn't have needed their assistance" Elijah just stared at him, the fork of food frozen halfway to his mouth. "You scare me sometimes" Muttered Elijah quietly "Really, you are a very strange person" He continued eating his food while Berlioz remained staring past him.


	23. 22: Nameless Streets

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

6th Day in Detroit

As he saw the gunship peel away to make another pass at them, Nick waved at Alicia franticly, trying to get her to run over to him. She noticed him and limped over, clutching her injured side. The gunship came screaming back and strafed their position with its 20mm chin-mounted gun. As soon as it passed them by, Nick popped out of cover and knelt down on one knee, his rifle firmly in his shoulder. He flicked the rate of fire catch to semi-automatic and peered down the sights and the slowly turning gunship. He moved the sights over the right engine port, exhaled slowly, evenly, as it accelerated towards him, and squeezed off three rounds in quick succession.

The first round was dead on target. It punched through the thin grating that protected the engine turbine and shattered it into fragments, most of which shot back into the engine causing it to start spewing thick black smoke and flames. The second and third rounds were sent wildly high by the recoil and failed to hit the target. As the pilot tried desperately to stabilise the now totally out of control vehicle, Nick ran further under the overhang to find Alicia slumped against a lump of concrete that had fallen from the ceiling. He didn't even notice the gunship slam into the ground, digging a 3-metre wide trough in the asphalt.

Slowly pooling around her hips and thighs was a thin puddle of blood that escaped from between her now slack fingers. He tapped her on both shoulders and lifted her hand to check her pulse. It was so faint, almost gone, but still hanging on. "Come on Raven, don't die on me now!" He muttered under his breath as he got his small first aid kit out, the same one that he had patched his leg up with only two days earlier. He pulled the rolled up bandage from the bag and began wrapping it around her ribs as tight as he could without breaking anything.

Once that was done, he ran over to the downed gunship. It had failed to explode in the impact but it was enough to render it useless and also kill the pilot. The co-pilot however wasn't so fortunate. Both his legs were crushed under the collapsed cockpit control panel, so he couldn't try and run when Nick walked towards him. He made the effort to pull the Model-003 side arm from the side of his seat, but Nick already had his P32 out as he advanced and simply pumped one round into his head, blowing his brains across the side window.

Nick holstered his weapon and peeled open the pilot's cockpit and grabbed the thankfully working radio from its holder on the panel. He dialled on the radio frequency for the Leonemeccanica Air Command and set it to the emergency channel. It crackled to life. "Hello, Hello can anyone hear me?" he said into the small hand held mic. A voice crocked back, "Yeah we can hear you" "Ok, this is Lance Corporal Nick Hale, I have a wounded Raven by the name of Alicia down here and she is in a critical condition, I need immediate medivac" Nick waited for a response knowing that every second her life slipped away. The radio crackled again, "Please confirm, this is the pilot of the Armored Core White Sparrow?" "Yeah that's a positive" "Hold your position, a dropship is being routed to you now, please state your location" Nick opened up the digital map on his HUD and read out the coordinates that it displayed. "I am at grid, 2456, 1009. Interrogative, how long will the dropship take to get here?" "Errrrrm, please hold on that one LC." Nick waited patiently for a response. "LC, due to your current location which may I remind you is deep in enemy territory and the presence of enemy anti-aircraft positions, it make take some time to plot a safe path. ETA 20 minutes maximum"

Nick dropped the radio back into the cockpit and ran to Alicia, sliding back into cover. He lifted her arm slightly so he could get a better look at the wound. The bandage was holding the blood back for now, but he didn't know how much she had lost already. He pulled a syringe of morphine from the bag, only to realise that it could slow her heartbeat to the point where it would stop. He replaced it and ran out into the open to help guide the dropship in when it arrived. As he walked out the air around him exploded with the sound of weapons fire. Nick pinned his back to a concrete pillar, cursing himself for not bringing his rifle, which he had left at Alicia's side. He drew his P32 and fired off a few rounds around the corner before poking his head out. He counted three soldiers all armed with Rayleonard's standard issue rifle, the Model 001, and then to his horror, a single armoured shock trooper leading them. Nick slid the magazine out from the P32 and held it up to count how much ammo he had left. Four rounds. He sighed in desperation and slid the mag back into the weapon. Slowly, he peered back round the corner and look for the closest target. One soldier was excessively close for comfort and he had his finger around the trigger for the 40mm grenade launcher. Nick popped out as fast as he could, took aim and fired a single round. It was a clean shot, punching straight through the soldier's helmet, the force of the impact causing his head to snap back.

Nick hid behind the pillar again hoping that they hadn't seen where the fire had come from. His hope was in vain as the pillar he was hiding behind suddenly exploded as chunks were blown out by the high calibre 7mm round that the 003 used. Nick clutched the P32 with a white knuckle grip, and popped back round to corner praying that one of them would be close enough for a split second shot. This time one man had moved forward. Nick fired off one shot and ducked back behind his pillar. The shot was follow by a roaring chorus from the enemy's assault weapons. He poked his head around the corner to see a second body one the ground. He wasn't dead, he was still trying to crawl back to his comrades. Nick armed the 11mm barrel and fired it in the vague direction of the downed soldier.

He was rewarded by a sudden cry, then silence. Nick jumped completely out of cover hoping that he could take out the last two with the remaining two rounds, firing them in quick succession. The first caught the final soldier square in the chest, punching a hole in his body armour and killing him instantly. The second was off by millimetres, and hit the shock trooper in the shoulder. It didn't have the desired effect as the shock trooper simply shrugged off the round and marched weapon raised, towards him. Nick looked down at his sidearm, the slide locked back, indicating an empty weapon.

Nick thought this was the end, with the muzzle of the 002 Battle Rifle in his face, he could hear the laboured breathing behind the thick mask that the soldier wore. He was shocked to hear a burst of gunfire to his left, and see the shock trooper slump to the side, the side of his head a bloody mess. He looked over in the direction where the weapon fire had come from only to see Alicia sitting upright, with his rifle pinned into her right shoulder and her hand clasped around the grip. She looked exhausted, her hair had come loose from the clasp that had held it in place and now hung across her face.

Nick ran over to her and had to peel her fingers from the rifle. "It's ok, I'm ok" He said, trying to calm her somewhat. She just sat there, wheezing slightly, still staring at the dead shock trooper. The sound of jet engines and gun fire approaching made him turn around and look into the sky. He saw the dark green dropship descend from above under a hail of fire from a pair of Rayleonard gunships similar to the one Nick brought down earlier. He scooped Alicia up in his arms, his rifle slung across his shoulders and charged out into the open, racing for the open hatch at the back.

He ran up the ramp, rounds now pinging off the armour plating from the advancing soldiers behind them. Nick set Alicia down on a seat at the side, making sure she was secure he ran back to the ramp, dropped to one knee and began firing off rounds at the enemy. It was then that he spotted the charging MT behind the soldiers that began to blaze away with its dual barrelled 50mm cannon. Nick cried out to the pilot over the com unit, "MT, 6 o'clock!"

He heard a voice say "Don't worry, all over it!" The dropship suddenly lurched to one side as it pivoted on the spot, narrowly avoiding scraping its tail off on the building sides. Nick heard the dull roar of the 30mm chin gun and the high pitched screech of a pair of missiles peeled away towards the MT. After hearing the distant explosion he shouted "Get us out of here, now!" The pilot responded by sharply pulling up, the dropship rapidly pulling away from the ground. The sound of bullets bouncing off the hull suddenly changed as the rounds began to punch through, the remaining daylight streaming in. He heard the pilot scream in frustration over the headset, she had obviously forgotten it was still on, "Come on you heap of shit!" There was a loud bang and then the dropship began to slowly yaw to the left.

"Christ, the left engine is hit, I'm not sure if we're gonna make it!" said over the com unit, sounding worried. Nick looked over at Alicia; she sat still as a statue, one hand clutched around her sidearm, the other pressing down on the pad that covered the wound on her side. Nick yelled into the mic, "Just keep us in the air, we've got to get her to a safe LZ!" "I'm not sure if that's going to happen!" came the response. Nick stood up to go over to Alicia, but stumbled over as the dropship lurched to one side. "Oh God, Air Command, this is Evac-0933, I have suffered critical failure in my port engine and I am going down!" There was no response, only static "I repeat I am going down with wounded on-board!" Shouted the pilot, there was still no reply, "Ok" asserted the pilot, "It looks like we're on our own, hang on to something!"

The dropship dropped below the roofline of the buildings, as it fell it smashed into the side of an old office block toppling it over and sending the dropship into an uncontrollable spiral. Alarms began to blare and the lights went dim in the hold. "Brace!" screamed the pilot over the head set. Nick grabbed hold of Alicia before the dropship slammed into the tarmac. Nick felt his head crack against something and all the lights went out in the world.


	24. 23: Make a Move

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven

Raven's Ark

Elijah was sitting in his room eating the breakfast he had made when the computer in his room suddenly lit up, indicating that a new message had come through. He sighed, why now? Slowly he dragged himself away from the table and walked over to the screen. He stared at the name that was attached to the message.

_To: Elijah, Raven_

_From: Desmond, Governor_

_Good Morning Elijah. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I would like to speak to you in person as soon as possible._

_My regards_

_Desmond_

Elijah closed the message down and pondered the reason that might have caused the Governor to summon him like this. He came to the conclusion that whatever it was, it must been important. So he walked with meaning now towards the wardrobe and began to put on a jumpsuit, hoping that he wouldn't need to continue wearing it.

He left his room quickly and began to walk briskly to the main elevator. The damage from the flyer attack was almost completely gone, new panes of glass had been used to replace the smashed ones and the bullet riddled panelling had been removed and replaced. However some parts still showed the scars of the conflict. Several sections of the 'Ark had huge chucks blown out of them from repeated missile impacts and the walkway to the Hanger was still unstable. Someone walked into him, nearly knocking him down, he turned to apologise but they had already walked on. Cursing himself for not concentrating on where he was going, he walked swiftly up to the elevator doors.

They opened as he walked forward and several people in suits emerged. He could tell that they were members of the various corporations that kept several Ravens under their semi-permanent employment, like Berlioz for example, or Leonhardt. As soon as they had all walked out of the elevator Elijah stepped in and pressed the button that had _Governor's Office_ written on it.

He felt his stomach descend as the elevator rose up the central column to the higher parts of the 'Ark. It was still fairly early in the morning and the light from the sun was flickering through the windows as he shot skyward. He was surprised by the sudden decrease in speed and the doors in front of him parted silently and Elijah strode towards the desk opposite the elevator doors. A woman with blonde hair sat at a computer, and looked up at him as his approached. "Elijah Thomson?" She said with little emotion in her voice. "Yeah, that's me" Said Elijah, he wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying and more on the sidearm that was strapped to her hip that he just caught a glance of. She shocked him back into focus when she started talking again, "The Governor is waiting for you in his office" "Thanks" Muttered Elijah as he walked away.

The doors that lead into the office were once again flanked by two armed guards who immediately stepped aside as he came closer. The doors opened automatically and Elijah saw Governor Desmond sitting at his desk staring forward. "Good morning Elijah" Said Desmond in his deep voice "I understand that you still don't know the reason for me summoning you?" "I'm still trying to figure that one out" "Do you remember the request I gave you, to destroy Motherwill?" Elijah's heart stopped, he had forgotten about the favour that Desmond had asked him for only a few days ago, maybe a week he was thinking. Elijah nodded, his heart in his throat.

"We we found it, a confirmed sighting of an enormous six legged unit on a direct course towards the former city of Detroit" Elijah suddenly thought, "Why is it headed for Detroit, there isn't anything there?" "That's that you'd think" Said Desmond "But for the last few years, Detroit has been the site of the largest conflict between Leonemeccanica and Rayleonard, just think of how many units are going to be stationed there, it was ignored by GA as the former city isn't occupied and is simply the site of a long standing conflict. The amount of soldiers there however is enough that if we can get in touch with their commanding officer then we could rally them against GA, however if Motherwill levels the city we lose a potential army." It all fell into place in Elijah's mind.

Desmond continued, "They want to eliminate the remaining forces that pose a threat to them" He paused then for a split second before he looked at Elijah "At also includes us and as much as the 'Ark was designed to resist attack, if they send another assault, the 'Ark will fall. Therefore, in the light of this revelation I have written up the plans to evacuate all no essential personnel from the 'Ark before we are attacked again" Elijah nodded, it made sense. But then he asked, "So what is going to happen about the Spirit of Motherwill then?"

Desmond let out a loud sigh, "I'm afraid that this is where you need to be absolutely sure of your choice." Elijah didn't say anything. "You will be using an experimental booster system designed by BFF to get into as close range as possible, while you are manoeuvring into position, you will be covered by two fighter jets that will also provide close air support while you are engaging Motherwill" Elijah nodded, he already knew about the booster system but the escort was a new one to him, "Do you have any idea on how I'm going to take this thing down?" Desmond shook his head, "I'm afraid that you're going to have to go with your gut instinct and simple try to do as much damage as possible. Try looking for weak points in its armour, or go for weapon systems. Just end its threat and even if it's still moving afterwards, we can simply use Leonemeccanica's air power to bomb it into submission" Elijah nodded, "Ok, so when do I have to leave?" Desmond smiled and looked at the wrist watch on his arm. "About, now. Ravens Edward and Berlioz are already at the gantry now, and your AC has been dropped off and is now being hooked up to the booster system." Elijah didn't say anything, he just turned around and walked out of the room. Wondering when his number was up.


	25. 24: The Way Out is Through

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

6th Day in Detroit

Nick's eyes slowly peeled open, the unholy throbbing at the back of his head was the only thing that told him he wasn't dead. He lifted himself off the floor of the dropship slowly. His head was killing him, and he felt off balance. Looking around for Alicia, he found that she wasn't inside the dropship carcass. However, she was nowhere to be found, the hatch at the back of the dropship was open, and his rifle was gone. Nick groaned, she must have gotten up and left him. He felt the holster at the side of his hip and felt that his sidearm was still there, not that he had any ammo for it. Wandering over to the lockers at the back of the hold, he rummaged around, looking for the survival crate.

He found it in seconds and dragged it out onto the floor. Cracking it open, he found that it was unused and everything was in place. He went for the largest object first, a vacuum packed "Mamba" Shotgun, loaded with standardised 12 gauge shells and holding eight in its tubular magazine, it was perfect for close-quarters encounters.

Ripping open the packet and finding the small box of shells, he loaded it with as many as it would take and slung it across his shoulders. Then he pulled out the similarly vacuum packed P32 and put it into his pack as he already had one. He also picked up the three magazines that came with it and slid it into his own P32 with a satisfying click. He pulled the slide back, chambering the first round.

He grabbed the last two mags and then filled his pockets with as much food and water as he could carry. He also replaced his used medical kit. Screwing the top off a caffeine shot, he downed it in one. The effect was immediate, the drowsiness vanished and his vision became clearer as the need to sleep properly slowly faded. He unslung the shotgun and staggered out the open hatch.

The first thing on his mind was whether the pilot was alive or not. Slowly walking to the front of the dropship, he found her slumped in her seat, apparently dead. However he saw the faint misting of the cockpit, the tell tale signs of life. He rapped his knuckles on the window, hoping to wake her. She suddenly was bolt upright and looking around trying to locate the source of the voice. "Down here!" Nick shouted, she looked down at him, and smiled. "I thought you were dead, the Raven left about half an hour ago, she said she couldn't wake you and was going to get help. Nick looked at the sun high in the sky; he guessed it was about midday.

"Can you get out?" asked Nick. "Yeah, just let me get something," said the pilot. She reached around behind her and pulled out an SM55 Viper SMG. She kicked out the front of the cockpit and clambered through the hole. When she jumped to the ground, her size shocked him, she stood at no more than 5ft,2 and had shoulder length black hair that went wavy half way down and curled at the tips, she was wearing a standard issue jumpsuit and had the SMG hanging from her one hand like someone would normally hold a sidearm.

She stood bolt upright, and had her free hand on her hip and she stared at him, it was as if she was boring right into his soul. He shook his head and said, "Do you know where Alicia went?" "Nah, she walked off and I couldn't see her from here" Nick stared down the street "Well, we'd better get going" said Nick "What's your name?" "Nicole" she said with a grin before beginning to walk down the road.

Nick walked on after her, the shotgun slung across his back. He was thinking about how long it would take to find Alicia and whether or not they would actually make it out of the city alive. They turned a corner only to find Alicia walked towards them. Nicole turned her head to face him; "well it looks like she was looking for us" Nick nodded and continued walking forwards. He waved his hand at Alicia, hoping to catch her attention. She didn't wave back, but continued walking towards them, the rifle still in her hands. "Do you think something is wrong?" said Nick, beginning to feel uneasy. "She seemed fine when I spoke to her," whispered Nicole, as Alicia got closer. She flicked the safety to off on the side of her SMG. Nick unslung the shotgun from his back and held it loosely across his chest. Alicia then looked behind her and Nick saw soldiers running after her. He ran forwards, slung the shotgun across his back and pulled out the sidearm at his hip. He dropped to one knee and began to pump off rounds at the approaching soldiers, taking care to avoid hitting Alicia. Nicole just shouldered the SMG and squeezed off bursts of bullets, switching between targets rapidly.

The enemy's shots started to blow chunks out of the tarmac at Alicia's feet as she ran. She spun around and dropped to one knee, the rifle at her shoulder, firing off rounds with sniper like precision. She flicked on the under barrel rocket launcher and sent the tiny projectile whistling towards the hostile group. The small explosion was enough to send them scattering for cover, giving her a chance to get back to the pair waiting for her.

Nick shouted at her "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine but I thought you were out of it back in the dropship!" The soldiers recovered quickly and began shooting again, the rounds throwing up dirt around them. They turned and ran for the downed dropship, hoping that it could be used as cover. An anti tank missile screamed over their heads and slammed into a building in front of them, showering them with debris and glass. Nick coughed and spluttered, dust filling his lungs as a good portion of the building collapsed. They made it to the dropship, Nicole and Alicia dived in, but as Nick clambered in, one of the enemies scored a lucky hit, the round sliced through the flesh and muscle at the back of his right leg, the burning sensation dulled slightly by the adrenaline rush that followed. He let out a sharp hiss and fell before making it completely inside, dropping to the ground.

"Nick!" shouted Alicia as she saw him fall. He dropped the empty magazine from his P32 and reached into his pocket for a new one. Slowly, he slid it in and racked the slide back. Then he aimed at the soldiers who were now far too close for comfort and began to fire, squeezing the trigger as fast as he could. Most of the rounds went wide, blowing holes in buildings and the road. However, two slammed into the foremost soldier, killing him instantly. Suddenly someone was dragging him back in, someone else was firing an automatic weapon. Sound and colour began to blur together, something exploded and the world faded into black.


	26. 25: The Good Soldier

A/N: Sorry! Was meant to be a mid-week update due to chapter size but I forgot it was under a 1000! Forgive me for saying this but we are coming up to the update point so soon updates will NOT be regular and could become as infrequent as once a month because I am in the middle of becoming a YouTube partner and running a gaming channel! (Totally original I know right?) So if you want something a little different from me than Armored Core Fan-Fiction please come have a look at user/TheDunntist and see if there's anything you like!

Enjoy!

Unknown location, 6th day in Detroit

Vision came back slowly, shapes began to form in front of him. He could hear voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. There was a dim light in the distance, and he could make out the shape of someone leaning over him. Everything began to come into focus, he could make out the face of the person who was leaning over him.

It was Alicia, she kept looking behind her and speaking to someone, but her words still didn't make any sense. Suddenly she dragged him to his feet and all the sound in the world came crashing back to him, shocking him. The roar of automatic weapons fire, missiles screaming and then exploding. The bass tone of a grenade exploding. He heard Alicia shouting at him and he focused on her. "Nick, we have to move, can you hear me!" He nodded slowly, her words working their way into his head. He then keeled over and fell to the deck, he saw Nicole wielding both SMG and a P32 in each hand, blazing away at unseen enemies.

He suddenly saw her drop the SMG and then eject the magazine from the pistol, slamming a new one home before the empty mag had even hit the floor. She held it in two hands, eye down the sight, squeezing off rounds with marksman like precision. She cried out, "Last mag!" and Alicia picked up Nick for the second time now. "Come on!" she shouted at him. As he was hoisted to his feet, he grabbed his own pistol that had been lying next to him. He noticed the locked-back side and then while Alicia supported him out into the open, he dropped the empty mag, and fumbled for a new one. Alicia saw what he was trying to do and snatched the pistol away from him. As she did this, she let go of him and for the third time he crumpled to the ground. He saw Alicia throw a mag to Nicole before sliding another into the weapon, racking the slide back before joining Nicole in firing. Then came the moment when Nick's blood ran ice cold, a sharp scream was emitted from Nicole as a 7mm round caught her straight in the leg, causing her femur to shatter and Nicole to fall next to Nick. He could see the tears of pain running down her face, she looked at him without saying a word, just staring into him.

That familiar look that she had given him only hours ago. Nick dragged himself to his feet, stumbled over to the dropship and grabbed his rifle. He felt a bullet nick his arm, but he didn't feel the burning pain that normally came. He turned, rifle shouldered and hefted Nicole to her feet, she cried out in pain, but still had the strength to raise the weapon in her hand and keep shooting. He turned, and suddenly, it was like everything went into slow motion. He saw Alicia fall backwards, a round hitting her square in the chest. Nicole screamed as another bullet slammed into her shoulder, the force knocking both of them over. She was crying out in pain, and Nick could do nothing about it, the tears ran down his face as Alicia hit the ground and didn't get up. He clambered over Nicole and lay next to her, trying to provide as much cover with his own body as possible. He got off three rounds before his plan worked. He felt the bullet crash into his side, shattering his ribs. He felt something warm running down his chin, a combination of tears and blood.

He was beginning to lose focus, Nicole's sobs the only thing keeping him going. Dropping the now empty rifle he picked up the P32 that Nicole had dropped and began to squeeze off rounds at the advancing soldiers. The pistol slide locked back after only 5 shots. Ejecting the mag he slammed the last one he had into the weapon. He inhaled what he thought would be his last breath and shouted, "Come on then you fuckers, bring it, bring it!" Nick fired wildly at the enemy, every round went wide and the gun was soon empty again. He looked back at Nicole, she was still crying, a grenade in her hands. He took it off her, and as his world faded into black, he depressed the arming button. He didn't know if it exploded or not...


	27. 26: The Beginning of the End

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven 

Transport – D244, on route to BFF Experimental Vanguard Over Booster (VOB) Testing site

The dull roar of the engines made even thinking to one's self almost impossible. Elijah sat in one of the hard, uncomfortable chairs that were bolted to the fuselage of the transporter. He looked over to his left to see two people sitting, one, a woman, was sitting staring at the opposite side of the transporter. While the other had dragged a small crate over to where he was sitting so that he could put his feet up as he slept.

They were both wearing the same thing. It looked like a standard issue air force jumpsuit but he wasn't sure. From his distance, he couldn't make out the insignia that was sewn onto the arm.

Then a male voice rang out, the one who he had thought was asleep apparently wasn't, "Are you the guy we've got to keep alive today?" Elijah laughed and said "Yeah, you guys any good at that?" The guy scoffed at him, "Do you know who we are?" Elijah shrugged and said, "Nope" "We're Rayleonard's Experimental Pilots, we are the best, and we fly the best" Elijah raised an eyebrow at this, "What exactly do you fly?" The guy grinned, "Oh you'll see" He leaned back and didn't speak again. The woman never said a word to either of them, she just sat in silence.

It wasn't long before Elijah felt the plane begin to bank right. The slight movement made him look around, the two pilots were still sitting perfectly still, the male had fallen asleep. The woman however remained stoic and continued to stare ahead.

Light streamed in through the windows, lighting up the dust in the hold. A voice rang over the PA system, "_We are beginning our descent, do not move around in the hold until the aircraft has come to a complete halt"_ No one moved, but Elijah continued to wonder about his task. Taking out the Spirit of Motherwill? Something that seemed impossible right now, perhaps more so when it would be bearing down on him in an hour or so.

He could see the canyon out of the window, the rust red rock almost reflecting the light on the horizon as the Sun broke over it, casting a slight red haze, like a blood red sunrise.

As they glided in, closer and closer to the ground, Elijah began to feel the first twinge of fear. He could quite easily be killed today, this could be it, his last day on Earth. But then he thought, isn't everyday like that, isn't everyday a risk?

The sudden jolt from the landing jarred him, and disrupted his chain of thought. The plane taxied to a large hanger before coming to a complete stop. The two pilots stood and walked past him, only the man looked at him as strode out the now open hatch, the woman on the other hand maintained her distance, and still refused to make eye contact.

Elijah pulled himself to his feet and followed after them. His eyes were closed into slits as dust and dirt flew up around them in the brisk wind caused by the transporter's engines. He continued to follow them, not knowing where he was actually meant to be.

Someone yelled out his name and he spun round, he saw Berlioz waving slowly at him. He must have got here before he did. Elijah ran over to him, and said "Where am I needed then?" Berlioz simply turned and walked away from him, confused as to why he hadn't even got a response he followed.

Suddenly the dust kicked up cleared and Elijah's jaw both mentally and physically dropped. Standing in front of him was what looked like something meant to be launched into space. Several large rocket boosters with smaller ones clustered around it in a pattern were all linked together and had fuel lines running along and between them. It was just in the process of being mounted to a special rig that was attached to his AC. The glaring white of the rocket boosters clashed with the red and black of Havok. He wondered how exactly a system like this would be like to actually use.

The Vanguard Over-Boost system was hoisted into place by a gantry that moved slowly to prevent damage. As Elijah got closer a crashing noise signalled that the VOB unit had been secured. This was really happening, wasn't it? He was taken toward the gantry where an elevator was stationed to take him up to the cockpit hatch at the back of the AC. As the elevator ascended, he could see the Sun climb higher and higher into the sky, it's early red glow turning into a bright yellow.

The jot as the elevator suddenly stopped jarred him back to his senses, he keyed in his code for the hatch on Havok. With a light hiss the door latch came loose and Elijah pulled it open. He clambered in, closing the hatch behind him, the seal hissing again slightly as it became air-tight. He settled into the seat and began spooling up the generator.

The low hum as power flowed through all the systems. As he started running checks to see if anything was out of place, he heard the radio in his helmet crackle into life. "Raven Elijah, this is control, is everything good on your end? The VOB system has been checked over and is ready when you are, the window to attack Motherwill is now open and will remain so for at least 20 minutes." Elijah set looked up at the clock on his HUD, it read _9:32_. He had 20 minutes to get himself ready, but unfortunately everything already was set, he had nothing to delay with. Both his machine guns were fully loaded and he had chosen to swap out the dual AS missile system on his back for a pair of independently targeting lightweight gatling guns firing 40mm armour-piercing rounds.

It seemed like a sensible choice due to the number of enemies that he'd be encountering on and around Motherwill, the fact that they were independent meant that he could use both 88mm machine guns and the two gatling guns all simultaneously and engage 4 enemies at once, not including enemies that could be hit by the extension AS missile launchers he had mounted.

He opened up the com-channel and, despite the fact he now wanted to say anything else, muttered "Everything is good here, let's get going" "Ok, we'll start the fuel pumps and get the booster ready to fire, the system will launch on your command. Good luck Raven". He swallowed deeply, and shifted the weight of Havok to pre-empt the force from the VOB. He didn't know if he was sweating from heat or from nerves, but he entered the command to launch.

Havok started sliding forwards.


	28. 27: Vital Signs

A/N: Sorry it's so late and short! Really am! The next few chapters are the last I have completed and then it's up to when and if I continue writing as I'm currently Job hunting and trying to start up a Youtube channel! So if you find yourself wanting more content from me that isn't just Armored Core fanfiction, do check out  user/TheDunntist

Cheers!

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

Unknown location, 6th Day in Detroit

Nick could feel himself rocking slightly. The light movement had woke him up and his vision was slowly returning to him. He was in a vehicle of some kind, there were several men in green body armour were sitting along the walls and there were three gantries in the middle. The other two people laying down he couldn't see.

As he tried to move, he felt someone hold him down, gently, but firm none the less. He hearing was beginning to return, and he could make out a voice saying "Steady now, just stay lying down" Then the same voice shouted out "Come on, get us out of this fire!" Then everything came crashing back to him. Alicia, Nicole, everything. He shot bolt upright knocking the soldier that had been talking to him over.

Nick immediately regretted sitting up as pain ripped through his side. The sound of a large calibre weapon firing in the distance. The small, suddenly cramped space became over baring. There was the clinking of empty shell casings dropping down. Then the vehicle began to move onwards. He could hear the sound of bullets bouncing off the armour plating, explosions going off around them.

Someone screamed and red was sprayed across the tiny space that they occupied. A round has punched through and passed straight through the body armour of one of the soldiers, piercing one of his lungs, every breath he took to scream sent another spray of blood into the air. Nick could only lie there in terror as the man who had been holding him down suddenly stiffened and slumped onto him, blood pouring from a hole in the back of his head. People were shouting, he couldn't hear anything, it all blurred into noise that was meaningless. He was having trouble breathing as the dead-weight of the soldier began to crush his chest, the pain from the bullet lodged in his ribs flaring up again.

The APC jerked to the side, and the dead soldier slide off him, air rushing into his lungs. Then the noise died down, the sound of weapons fire faded away, and the dull drone of the engine was all that remained, apart from the laboured breathing of the soldiers. Nick looked down at the dead soldier who had fallen on him, thankfully, he didn't recognise him. None of the faces in the hold seemed familiar, none of them stood out anyway. He turned his attention to the other two gurneys that were in the hold, most likely holding the bodies of Alicia and Nicole.

Not being able to move, he could do nothing more than try to see from where he was, which was almost impossible. Then the APC came to an abrupt halt. The hatch at the back opened and slightly warm, yet fresh air rolled in over them. The driver called out, "The engine's had it, we're walking from here." Several of the men grumbled but they all began to move to the back of the hold. Nick was suddenly rolled off the gurney and half carried out the hatch, the fading sunlight casting long shadows on the ground.

Nicole was the next to be carried out, she looked pale, and her face was covered in scratches and dirt. Her eyes were barely open, and she didn't even make the effort to look around. Alicia followed, carried out by the driver. She was unconscious, a medical pad taped across her chest. She was alive, somehow. Nick gestured towards Nicole, "Give me a rifle and her"

The soldier looked him puzzled, but walked back to the APC to retrieve Nick's gun. As the soldier's support left him, Nick slumped. He saw the dead bodies being dragged out the back of the APC, a cloth thrown over them, no time or place for a burial. The soldier rushed back, and placed the rifle in Nick's hands, the now battered and dented weapon had somehow remained functioning thought the last few days. The soldier that was supporting Nicole slowly walked over to him, and put her arm around his shoulder. They all began to walk forward, down the road in, what they hoped, was the right direction.

Nick looked back at Alicia, she had woken up, and was in a similar state to Nicole, dazed and exhausted. Nicole walked with a noticeable limp, putting all her weight on her good leg and Nick. He knew that if they were attacked now, the causalities would number half, if not more, of the group.

Everyone looked exhausted. The group lacked cohesion as they walked down the road, several people staggered as they tripped over rubble in their path. Keeping on in this state was tantamount to suicide, none of the would be able to respond fast enough should they get attacked. Nick called out, "We should stop and rest, we can't go on like this." Everyone stopped and looked at him. They all quietly agreed with him and began to slow down.


	29. 28: The Eleventh Hour

Elijah Dresden Thomson

Rank: Raven 

Enroute to Spirit of Motherwill

The clasps attached to the base of his AC's feet began to pull Havok forwards, he fired up his boosters to keep the entire rig stable as the massive weight from the VOB threw the balance beyond off. There wasn't much left of the small runway left, he forced Havok's boosters to 100% and the clasps detached, allowing Havok to pull upwards, the secondary boosters clustered around the five main boosters flared into life. His speed climbed from 110km/h to 800km/h in around 10 seconds. The force began to pull him back into his seat , a button on his display suddenly activated, the main VOB activation. _Here goes nothing_, he thought bracing himself. He pressed the button.

The world in front of his world became stretched as the explosive acceleration rammed him into his seat. The speedo shot from 800km/h to 2400km/h. There was a loud bang as he shattered the sound barrier, Havok was shaking a dangerous amount and Elijah became worried that he would just fall to pieces in the air. He felt physical pain from the g-forces on his body. The armoured jumpsuit was meant to be pressurised to attempt to keep the blood in his body flowing correctly but even then he felt sick and light headed.

He noticed two objects coming up behind him on his radar, he didn't even need to scan them to see what they were because almost as soon as he had noticed them they pulled in front of him. What was essentially a pair of flying triangles with boosters strapped to them went past him. Confused he opened a com channel to them, "Hello?" "Hey again" came back, it was the two Rayleonard pilots that were escorting him. "Well so far it seems like a clear shot from here to Motherwill, we should be making visual contac- Incoming! Evasive!" The two jets suddenly shot right as what sounded like thunder shot a hundred metres to his right. The force of it shook Elijah even more despite the vibrations from the VOB unit, "What the hell was that?!" shouted Elijah to the pilots. "It's Motherwill! She's firing on us!" Firing at them already? He had heard of long range but this was simply ridiculous. "Ok, we are gonna pull ahead and see if we can take out those sniper cannons" Without a chance to reply the two jet's engines flared and they pulled ahead at an incredible speed.

However as this happened another earth-shaking shot rung out as another shell passed them by, the first pilot managed to pull out of the way, but the second was too close to the passing shell. It didn't hit him but it didn't need to, the sheer force of it passing by him was enough for it to throw his jet completely out of control into a chaotic spiral. "Oh god! The jet can't get- I can't-" He was cut short as the jet ripped itself to pieces under the strain before almost immediately exploding. The small black cloud that was created was suddenly far behind them as Elijah and the last pilot shot forwards.

Peering into the distance, he could make out something out on the horizon, something big. It was Motherwill


	30. 29: Climbing on Rooftops

A/N: So guys, this is it. This is the last completed chapter that I have of this fanfic and unfortunately this has been the last one for awhile. I'm gonna say now that an update after this isn't going to come for quite sometime as I haven't properly written on this in well over a year or even two at this point. Maybe if I get around to completing the current chapter that's being written I'll put that one up but for now, I want to say thank you for all the reviews that you've left over the months and to anyone who has got here from reading the start, I'm very sorry that there isn't anymore to read. I had some great ideas on where to take this but it seems that's all they'll be for now. What I'm currently putting all my time and effort into is my gaming based YouTube channel, if you want more content from myself then please check it out as all the support is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again guys.

Nicholas Gordon Hale

Rank: Lance Corporal

Unknown location, 7th day in Detroit

The pain in his side was beginning to become unbearable. He was limping and struggling to keep Nicole upright, Alicia had woken only hours ago and was also limping. The round that had hit her had punctured a lung but the field medic had managed to stabilise her before it collapsed. Unfortunately the field medic had been the one who had fallen on Nick when the back of his head was blown open.

Nicole muttered "Can we take a break, my leg, it hurts" Nick nodded and called out to the rest to take a break. They had been doing this for the last 3 hours and it had just passed midnight. The moon wasn't anywhere to been seen as the smoke and clouds covered the sky. The handful of soldiers that were still with them were showing signs that the end for them was near, mud still on their faces where they hadn't even been bothered to wipe it off, blood and grim over their weapons and armour, dirty wounds and that stare indicative of burnout. They had to get out of this city.

As he thought this, the radio on his chest crackled into life and a voice could be made out. "To all remaining units inside the city of Detroit. We have confirmed that the weapon known as Spirit of Motherwill is almost in firing range of the city, should it fire we anticipate extreme damage to the city and recommend the suspension of all non-essential flights in the Detroit airspace and that all ground based units seek cover and avoid open air spaces."

Nick stared down the road, not being able to see the end of it made him wonder where exactly in the city they were and if they were even able to be effected by this "Spirit of Motherwill". He'd never even heard of it. Nicole looked up at him from the floor and wheezed "What the hell was that about?" Nick, looking down didn't know what to say because he had no idea what he had really heard, "Apparently something is near the city that command is worried about, they called it Spirit of Motherwill? I don't think I've ever heard that name before". Before Nicole had a chance to respond, one of the soldiers limped over to him, "Did I hear you right? Did you just say that the Spirit of Motherwill is near Detroit?" Nick blinked and stared at the soldier, did he know something he didn't? "Yeah I did, why do you know something about whatever it is?" The soldier nodded slowly and continued talking "A few years ago I used to be employed by BFF, I remember over hearing some of the scientists that I was guarding on a base talking about some hypothetical super weapon that the directing board for BFF had thought of to try and allow them to compete on a level with corporations like Rayleonard and Rosenthal. The one name they kept saying was 'Motherwill'." Nick could feel the blood in his veins go icy from fear, not because he knew what was out there, but because he _didn't_ know.

The building that was next to them looked to him to be one of the few in the city that was merely dilapidated rather than destroyed. The front entrance was open and besides the litter and paper floating about there was little sign of damage, no rubble lying around, no scorch marks, no bullet holes. He turned back to the soldier that had spoken to him and said "I'm gonna run up to the top of that building and see if I can get a bearing of where we are and if I can, see if I can spot the Spirit of Motherwill from here." He took off the radio that was attached to his chest and unhooked the antenna and small power pack on his back, giving them both to the confused soldier. "Use this to get hold of me as my helmet com unit is still functioning, if anything happens, anything at all, call me. Is that understood?" The soldier nodded and hooked himself up to the radio, the speaker head dangling on his chest as it had done on Nick's.

Nick patted himself down, doing a quick check on his equipment status. Three magazines for his rifle, several pouches full of shotgun shells but he had left the Mamba shotgun back at the dropship crash site and 3 magazines for his P32 pistol. Patting his hip he felt a pistol there, the weight of it suddenly becoming noticeable. He reach down and picked up his rifle that had been laying next to Nicole, herself now asleep with her back against the wall of the building.

He depressed the button on the side of the rifle that opened up the ejection port for him to check if there was a round in the chamber. There wasn't, closing it he dropped the magazine from the weapon, finding it empty he fished one of the last full mags from his armour and slid it in, a dull click and a clunk told him the mag was secure and a round was now chambered. Looking up, he knew he had a climb ahead of him.

He had barely entered the door when he noticed the air becoming a lighter shade of grey, rather than piercing black like it was before. The sun was starting to rise. Running into the atrium, he headed straight for the stair case, not looking forward to the uncountable amount of steps he was looking at.

45 minutes later he burst out into the first few moments of sunlight, burning their way through the cloud layer and over the horizon. He stood there doubled over to catch his breath, panting with his face towards the ground. After standing there like that for a good few moments he looked up, squinting to see if he could see anything in the distance. The glow from the now slowly rising sun made it difficult to spot anything outside the city limits.

It was obviously too far away to be seen in the light, the sun now rising higher into the sky. The roar of jet engines made him turn, the noise echoing around the city making it hard to pin-point the exact location. If Rayleonard fighters were in the area he needed to get to ground level to avoid being spotted. Going back down the flights of stairs was the last of his worries.


End file.
